Random Image Dump #8: Showgirls-Era Elizabeth Berkley Edition

We’re big fans of Nomi Malone here at the Starfire Lounge. Sure, she tore through the place like a demonic hurricane from hell when she stripped, er, danced here, but that display of raw power only made us fall a little more in love with her. Nomi is a Starfire Lounge Hall of Famer, for sure.

Actress Elizabeth Berkley deserves much of the credit for making Nomi so memorable. In Paul Verhoeven’s cult classic Showgirls (1995), Berkley is a force of nature, delivering one of the most committed performances ever captured onscreen. From licking stripper poles to devouring cheeseburgers to vigorously f*cking in a pool—make no mistake, Nomi doesn’t have sex; she F*CKS—Berkley lays bare Nomi’s voracious appetite. That hunger drives her to succeed in Vegas at any cost.

Berkley’s performance was universally panned in 1995, even though she did exactly what Verhoeven wanted. Nomi is all id, utterly lacking in impulse control. She’s maniacally driven by a bloodlust for career success, and Berkley plays this obsession to wildly over-the-top perfection. Over time, a growing subset of fans and critics have championed both the film and Berkley’s singular performance.

In 1995 though, her career was basically destroyed by the harsh reviews. Reading profiles and interviews from that year, it’s hard to miss the misogyny and sneering contempt for Berkley in these pieces, many of which feature photo sets of the actress looking absolutely stunning. Looking at the images alone, outside the context of the articles themselves, it seems impossible to believe this woman didn’t become a major star. Eventually though, she did become something even better than that: the beloved star of one of the most adored cult movies of all time.

---

Here’s a selection of Elizabeth Berkley’s magazine and publicity shots from right around the time of Showgirls’ release, in the fall of 1995. Warning: contents of these pictures may be flammable.