Will Lindsay Lohan's (Leaked) Playboy Cover Help or Hurt?

Dec. 8, 2011— -- intro: Lindsay Lohan had hoped to reveal her first-ever Playboy cover during an appearance next week on "The Ellen Degeneres Show," but as with most things Lohan, this, too, has not gone according to plan.

The sexy cover shot was leaked online Tuesday on the website The Insider.com. It shows Lohan, in just a pair of black heels, straddling a red plastic chair in the shape of Playboy's iconic bunny to strategically cover her up. The "Mean Girls" actress runs her hands through her long blond cascading hair.

CLICK HERE to See the Leaked Cover Image

Lohan will offer a more detailed look when she sits down with Degeneres Dec. 15, which will be her first media appearance since she served 4½ hours in jail for violating her probation. Her appearance comes just ahead of the January/February issue of the men's magazine hitting newsstands.

Her rep assures that the inside shots are nothing but classy.

"The pictorial is absolutely fantastic and very tasteful, and will be accompanied by an interview that will let readers see another side of Lindsay," Steve Honig told the New York Post.

Playboy chief Hugh Hefner said the photo shoot channeled old Hollywood.

"[It's a] classic tribute inspired by the original Tom Kelly nude pictorial of Marilyn Monroe," Hefner told the entertainment show "The Insider."

"It turned out very well. I would say that I had some reservations early on, but after a couple of false steps, everybody came on board and it's going to be very exciting," Hefner said.

Apparently, Hefner was not satisfied with the first round of images after Lohan's initial shoot in October. He had the actress return for a reshoot with "a new theme."

Lohan pocketed close to $1 million for the Playboy spread, according to TMZ .

The money will surely come in handy for the financially strapped starlet. But will it help jump-start her career?

Click here to see a slideshow of Playboy through the years.

This would actually be Lohan's second time posing nude. The first time was in 2008, when she restaged a series of famed photographs of Marilyn Monroe for New York magazine. The magazine's online traffic jumped significantly, but Lohan didn't see much improvement in her career and her negative rating for celebrity likability actually increased.

Other than easing her financial situation -- Lohan's lawyer recently told a court she couldn't afford counseling -- it's not clear how a Playboy spread will help her.

Click through to see other stars who have bared their assets in the magazine's pages to mixed results.

quicklist: 1category: title: Kim Basingerurl: text: Back when she was starting out as a Bond girl, Kim Basinger posed on the cover of Playboy and in a pictorial as well.

Basinger said the publicity earned from Playboy landed her a role in "The Natural," for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress. She went on to win the Oscar for playing a prostitute in "L.A. Confidential."

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quicklist: 2category: title: LaToya Jacksonurl: text: When LaToya Jackson posed topless for Playboy in March 1989, she saw it as a declaration of independence from her conservative upbringing.

"I posed nude to show my parents they couldn't dictate to me anymore -- that I control my life," she told Ebony magazine in 1992.

The issue sold 8 million copies and became one of Playboy's biggest sellers, turning Jackson into an overnight sex symbol.

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quicklist: 3category: title: Charlize Theronurl: text: Charlize Theron also appeared nude in Playboy before her career took off.

After the pictures were published in the May 1999 issue, Theron later sued the photographer, claiming the pictures, taken during her early modeling days, were for private use only.

She won the suit and came out on top, because the pictures' existence gave her greater exposure. They eventually led to her Oscar-winning role in "Monster."

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quicklist: 4category:title: Joan Collinsurl: text: Joan Collins broke new ground when she posed nude for Playboy well into her 40s at the height of her "Dynasty" fame.

Her nude layout was considered controversial at the time, but it opened the doors for older actresses to pose for Playboy.

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quicklist: 5category: title: Farrah Fawcetturl: text: Among the older actresses for whom Joan Collins may have paved the way was the most popular pinup model of the '70s, the original "Charlie's Angels" star, Farrah Fawcett.

Fawcett appeared on the cover of Playboy at the height of her popularity but didn't disrobe for the magazine until many years later, at age 50. The issue, which became a top seller, led to her critically acclaimed role in "The Apostle."

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quicklist: 6category: title: Dannii Minogueurl: text: Australian singer-actress Dannii Minogue posed for Playboy in 1995 but broke into tears in 2009 when she admitted to Piers Morgan that she did it for the money.

Minogue said she owed more than 150,000 British pounds but was too proud to turn to her older sister, Kylie Minogue, for help.

"I never wanted to admit the trouble I was in," she said. "I should have been looking at my finances."

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