Topless at 50: Curtis Breaks the Mold

March 22, 2008— -- To celebrate her 50th birthday, Jamie Lee Curtis doffed her swim suit in favor of her birthday suit — at least partially.

The cover of the new issue of AARP The Magazine shows Curtis topless in a swimming pool.

"If I can challenge the old ideas about aging, I will feel more and more invigorated," Curtis said in an interview for the magazine's May/June issue.

This isn't the first time Curtis has "dared to bare" to challenge Hollywood's definition of beauty. In 2002, Curtis posed for More magazine in her underwear and bra, sans makeup, stylists and flattering camera angles or lenses.

The resulting photos showed Curtis as more middle-aged mom than glamour queen — complete with a sagging belly and chunky thighs.

This from the woman known for her bodacious body and starring roles in high-profile movies like "Trading Places," "A Fish Called Wanda" and "Halloween."

"Much of the shoot was Jamie's idea — she was very involved in the creative concept," AARP The Magazine deputy editor Nancy Graham said. "It is certainly groundbreaking for us, and for women of this age. We're thrilled to have such a Hollywood icon embrace her age and show everyone it's OK to be comfortable in your own skin."

Whether everyone will get the message is another story.

Kathy Kater, a body image specialist with a private practice in St. Paul, Minn., said that from what she sees in her clients, women of all ages from grade school girls to 50-ish moms still compare themselves to the unrealistic ideals they see in the media.

"It's become less PC to talk about it, but when these women are in my office they're all saying the same thing. 'I feel so fat, my thighs are gross. I want to lose weight,'" she said. "I had an eighth grade girl say to me, 'If I don't lose 10 pounds I may as well not even go to high school.'"

Although there has been a lot of publicity and media attention about body image issues over the last few years, Kater said it has actually made it harder for women to come to grips with their own issues.

"Even though women are more educated about it, they don't want to be thought of as having some disorder," she said. "They know these are just images they see in magazines, not real people, because they're all made up. Nonetheless, women continue to hold themselves to that same standard, that ideal of beauty in general."