Lauren Hutton Poses Nude at 61

Oct. 21, 2005 — -- At 61, model and actress Lauren Hutton is baring it all.

"I want them (women) not to be ashamed of who they are when they're in bed," Hutton told "Good Morning America. "Society has told us to be ashamed."

The entire upcoming issue of Big magazine, "Lauren Hutton: The Beautiful Persists," is dedicated to Hutton's career and includes eight pages of nude photos. The magazine project began when editors asked Hutton to do a retrospective autobiography in words and pictures. At first Hutton turned it down, but when she met with the art director, she was impressed by his intelligence and agreed to do the project.

Only when they were into the project did the magazine ask Hutton about posing nude.

"It was so shocking, why would you ask a 62-year-old to pose nude?" said Hutton, who turns 62 next month.

Hutton consulted her 14 godchildren before giving the OK.

"They've seen me in a bathing suit and they thought I looked OK," Hutton said. "They said, 'This is going to be inspirational, are you kidding?'"

Topless photos of Hutton were published in 1974 and Larry Flynt once offered her $1 million to pose nude -- an offer he said he'd given to only four women -- but these are the first nude photos of Hutton ever published.

Hutton said this is the first time her photos have not been retouched.

"Where would you start?" she asked. "I don't care. The really important is that women understand not to listen to a 2,000-year-old patriarchal society."

This is not the first time Hutton has blazed new trails.

In 1974, Hutton signed a million-dollar contract to be the face of Revlon. At age 40, Revlon fired Hutton and is was six years before she staged a comeback.

"My generation of '60's women are not going to stop wanting to be attractive," Hutton said. "I said, 'You've got to show us in the magazine.' So they showed me."

Hutton is also known for her adventurous spirit, having wrestled alligators, traversed the Arctic in a dog sled and spent time with African tribesman. But one adventure in 2000 resulted in a brush with death.

Hutton was riding her motorcycle with actors Dennis Hopper, Jeremy Irons and others when her bike hit some rubble on a bend while she was traveling at 100 mph. Hutton was thrown 20 feet in the air before landing face-down almost 200 feet away from the bike. She suffered multiple breaks in her right leg, compound fractures in her right arm, broken ribs, a broken sternum and a punctured lung.

"People say you're flirting with death, but you're really flirting with life," Hutton said.

Hutton fully recovered, and today she dedicates much of her time to her "Good Stuff" makeup line and her voiceover career. That is, when she is not inspiring women.

"There's a proverb that goes, 'It's the old fiddle that plays the sweetest music,'" Hutton said. "It's true."