Demi Moore's 1991 Vanity Fair Cover Was The Blueprint For Modern Maternity Photos

In the late '80s, Hollywood star Demi Moore tied the knot with fellow actor Bruce Willis, solidifying their status as one of the most popular celebrity romances at the time. In fact, the duo was among the top '90s celebrity couples who ruled the red carpet and looked good doing it, and by 1994, Moore and Willis had three daughters. Needless to say, Demi Moore's daughters are all grown up and absolutely gorgeous today, but while she was pregnant with her second child, Scout, the "G.I. Jane" star caused quite a commotion. In August 1991, Vanity Fair published an issue with a very pregnant and very naked Demi Moore on the cover. The picture, taken by Annie Leibovitz, ultimately helped popularize pregnancy photo shoots, allowing women to capture the beauty of their pregnancy in a glamorous way, and at the time, it was groundbreaking. 

Vanity Fair

During the 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival, Demi Moore opened up about the now-iconic photo shoot, admitting that many considered the fact that she would be pregnant and naked on the cover of Vanity Fair highly controversial. "The thing that really struck me when there was so much back and forth about it, and part of what I felt in just showing up to do the shoot, was an honest expression of how I was feeling at that time," she explained (via People). "I felt very empowered as a woman. I felt sexy," the actor admitted.

While Demi Moore's 1991 Vanity Fair pregnancy cover ended up changing public perception about maternity photoshoots, the cover almost didn't happen. Well, at least in the form we know it today. Moore revealed that the photo wasn't even meant to be on the cover. "That was actually done for me at the end of the shoot. We were doing it just so that we had a family [photo]," she shared.

Once the magazine was out, it had to be sold with a covering because at the time, Moore's modest nudity was considered obscene. "They had to put a brown wrapper," the "Ghost" actor remembered. "There's an interesting thing that existed that, thank God, we've grown and evolved, is that you were celebrated when you find out you're pregnant, and you're celebrated when the baby was born. But in the in-between, you're not supposed to remind anybody that you've ever had sex and that it's a shameful thing."

Since Moore's Vanity Fair cover, many other A-listers have followed in her footsteps. In fact, now many pregnant ladies in Hollywood aren't afraid to show off their baby bumps, and Moore can definitely take some credit for that. From Beyoncé to Kim Kardashian, all of the biggest names in the industry have confidently shown off their pregnant bodies, whether on magazine covers, social media, or even red carpets.