Sigourney, what an inspiration

I just saw on a facebook page I follow that today is Sigourney Weaver's birthday! I just adore that woman; her career and her movie characters have always been an inspiration to me.

Besides all her roles in numerous sci-fi films that I love (Alien saga, Ghostbusters, Galaxy Quest, Cabin in the Woods...), years ago I read an interview of her that changed my perspective. She openly talked about nudity in media such as cinema. She defended that it can be a powerful work tool to create a context, an environment or simply an stimulus; and that she has always felt very comfortable with her body and has zero problem shooting nude scenes if she thinks they can contribute in something to the final product.

In fact, for the iconic Alien scene where she stays just in a crop top and undies, after reading the script which explains the contrast between human body fragility and the coldness of the xenomorph, it was Sigourney who proposed shooting those scenes completely naked (when she is about to hibernate in the hypersleep chamber but discovers the xeno inside the Narcissus)... But Ridley Scott thought it was too much for a science fiction movie and they finally opted for the thong and crop top look.

She also has done a lot of very provocative photoshoots. I especially love the ones with the brilliant photographer Helmut Newton.

I've not always been comfortable with being nude in front of a camera, nor comfortable enough with my body. But discovering boudoir photography and burlesque was how I started that personal journey of feeling comfy on my own skin.
For me it's not just "nude photography", it's another artistic component that adds the sensuality, the human shape to the equation. Because in my boudoir photo-sets usually there is involved a lot of artistic work: makeup, outfits, wigs, lighting, set designing, prop creation, photography, editing, posing... And the nudity, when it's there, it becomes a powerful element that mixes with all the others elements. A way to express yourself artistically through your body.

Happy birthday Sigourney Weaver. Thanks for being the queen that I need.

Sigourney Weaver - High school senior portrait : "Please, God, please, don't let me be normal."