Strippers in the Movies

‘Magic Mike XXL’ has plenty of dudes strutting around onstage in various states of undress. They’re not the first: male and female strippers have caught our eye in lots of movies -- like these.

Elizabeth Berkley plays a woman who will do anything to be a top Vegas showgirl, which basically means getting naked a lot. Even before its release, 'Showgirls' attracted controversy for its graphic sex and nudity. This camp classic remains the only NC-17-rated film to gain a wide theatrical release.  

Moore earned a then record-breaking payday when she starred as a woman who becomes a stripper to fund a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband. Critics and audiences gave a thumbs down to ‘Striptease,’ and Moore’s acting career never fully recovered.

Salma Hayek raised a few eyebrows with her sexy-campy dance number in this George Clooney-starring vampire crime comedy written by Quentin Tarantino. Hayek would strip again in ‘Dogma’ (1999) and ‘Americano’ (2011).

‘From Dusk till Dawn’ was directed by Robert Rodriguez. So was ‘Sin City,’ with Jessica Alba as Nancy, a stripper with a watchful guardian in the form of Bruce Willis' John Hartigan. Then came Rodriguez’s half of the 2007 exploitation homage ‘Grindhouse,’ in which Rose McGowan was cast as… you guessed it.

What's a one-legged stripper to do when the zombie apocalypse comes? You replace your fake leg with a machine gun and wipe out the infected creatures. Unfortunately Cherry didn't do a pole dance with the machine gun, but her character does manage to kick all sorts of butt throughout the movie.

In her breakout hit, Beals played an aspiring dancer who worked as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night. Even after 30 years, the intense dance number set to Michael Sembello's “Maniac” remains an iconic Hollywood moment.

Jennifer Aniston plays an exotic dancer hired by a drug dealer (Jason Sudeikis) to pose as his squeaky-clean wife in this hit comedy. Do her professional skills come in handy? Smart money says yes.

What better way to transition from being “that girl from 'Star Wars'” than playing a troubled stripper just beginning her career in London? The part earned her her first Oscar nomination.  

Though 'Twilight' had already made her a star, Stewart continued dabbling in the indie realm with this 2010 drama. She played an underage stripper named Mallory who leaves the job behind to live a quiet domestic life with a grieving man (James Gandolfini).

Lohan starred in this horror-thriller as both Aubrey Fleming, a pianist and writer, and Dakota Moss, a struggling exotic dancer. The question is whether the two characters are actually different people, or if Aubrey is suffering from extreme PTSD.

Long before ‘The Full Monty’ came this curiosity. Atkins is a college student by day, male stripper by night. Lesley Ann Warren is his amorous professor. Wonderfully cheesy, the movie also introduced Animotion's ‘80s hit “Obsession.”

Not many actors score Oscar nominations for playing strippers, but Marisa Tomei did just that in Mickey Rourke’s gritty “comeback” vehicle. Aside from her decidedly NSFW pole dancing, Tomei delivers a terrific performance.

Before 'Magic Mike,' there was 'The Full Monty.' This low-budget dramedy about six ordinary English blokes who decide to drop trou was a worldwide smash – and was even turned into a Broadway musical. While fairly comedic, it also tackled a number of serious issues like unemployment, homosexuality and fathers' rights.

Biel continued to shed her clean-cut, '7^th Heaven' image when she starred in this ensemble drama as a single mother who works as a stripper to support her comatose son. Patrick Swayze played the sleazy strip club owner in what would prove to be his final movie role.

Based on the Broadway musical about real-life burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee, ‘Gypsy’ starred Natalie Wood in the title role. While certainly tame by today's standards, the film offered a risque counterpoint to Wood's role in the previous year's big musical hit 'West Side Story.'

Possibly the least glamorous depiction of a strip club we’ve ever seen, this independent drama starred Daryl Hannah, Sandra Oh and Jennifer Tilly as exotic dancers who don’t exactly love their jobs – or each other.

The famous porn star plays a stripper who is attacked and turns into a zombie, but instead of going on a rampage, she continues dancing. Her act makes her even more popular, so even more strippers join the fun. Bonus points if you knew Robert Englund costarred.

Peter Sarsgaard stars as a dot-com millionaire who becomes fed up with his life. He hires a stripper (Molly Parker) to accompany him to Las Vegas and perform for him -- and maybe even fall in love with him, but life proves a little more complicated.  

Because you can never have too much Channing Tatum, we bring it full circle with this shot from 'Magic Mike' a few years ago. Tatum drew from his own professional stripping experience to play a talented exotic dancer with dreams of opening his own business.