I’m 70, and I Want to Do My First Nude Photoshoot

Still, the spark never fully died. Living in the West Village, I started going on auditions, dodging in and out of casting calls in between working on my indie films. I was often the odd one out, standing among all-American ingenues. My face had always read “ethnic” and “Jewish.” I never landed anything — until the bra shoot. And ironically, I only booked that gig because, in the casting call, they had you lift your shirt, which covered your face in order for them to get a look and a photo of our ill-fitting bra. Essentially, my bra got me the gig.

That shoot was my coming out. Until then, I had avoided giving my age in interviews, even as I was getting significant press, including a New York Times feature for the film I made with my dog, Chelsea. The paper noted, “Ms. Kirschenbaum — who said she was in her 40s but declined to give Chelsea’s age because of age discrimination in Hollywood.” When Howard Stern, 71, born the same year as me, asked my age on-air, I simply said, “40-something.”

Thanks to O Magazine, my secret was out. And I embraced it.

When I turned 60, I thought about doing something again, but the moment passed. Now, at 70, I’m overdue. As I envisioned my nude photoshoot, one thought kept nagging at me: my mother.

She’ll be 102 soon, and her body is extraordinary. Just the other day, we were at a new doctor’s office — an attractive man in his 50s, if even that — when Mom, the self-proclaimed cougar, proudly announced her age. Then she added, “And my boobs are perky. They don’t hang down.”

She’s not wrong. She has no cellulite, her skin is not crepey and her ankles are thin — remarkable. I keep telling her she should donate her body to science.

So, I thought, why not include her? A mother-daughter nude photoshoot. The same pose. The same framing. A side-by-side of two women, 70 and 101, defying expectations.

Women like Helen Mirren, 79, who posed topless for a cancer charity campaign at 72, or in 2023, then-81-year-old Martha Stewart posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, becoming the magazine’s oldest cover model and demonstrating that beauty and confidence are timeless. Even Jane Fonda in 2021, 83 at the time, graced Harper’s Bazaar looking stunning and fully embracing her years. These women have helped redefine what it means to age gracefully, boldly and unapologetically.

I can already hear the reactions. Shock. Admiration. Discomfort. Laughter. Maybe all of the above. But what better way to challenge the way society views aging? What better way to say, “This is what it looks like to be fully alive”?

We’ve both earned our bodies. We’ve both earned our stories. And we’re ready to bare it all.

AARP essays share a point of view in the author’s voice, drawn from expertise or experience, and do not necessarily reflect the views of AARP.