The stars whose iconic swimsuit photos made them overnight sensations

With her feathered blonde hair, dazzling smile and simple red swimsuit, Farrah created one of the defining images of the 1970s.

Photographer Bruce McBroom captured the picture at her Los Angeles home in 1976, with the actress doing her own hair and make-up. Released in the same year she began starring in Charlie’s Angels, the poster became a phenomenon.

According to the Smithsonian, it sold more than 12 million copies. The swimsuit itself eventually joined the museum’s collection, giving a seemingly straightforward publicity shoot a permanent place in American cultural history.

Bo’s appearance in the 1979 romantic comedy 10 delivered a beach image that would follow her throughout her career.

Wearing a flesh-toned swimsuit with her hair in cornrows, the actress ran along the shore in a sequence that became the film’s most recognisable moment. Photographs of the scene helped transform the relatively unknown performer into an international star.

Although Dudley Moore and Julie Andrews were the established names in the cast, Bo emerged as its breakout attraction. Her role also earned her a Golden Globe nomination for new star of the year.

Before she became synonymous with French cinema, Brigitte attracted photographers’ attention on the beach at Cannes in 1953.

Her floral bikini was a striking choice at a time when the two-piece still provoked controversy. Pictures of the young actress on the sand helped introduce her to a wider audience and established a connection with the French Riviera that lasted throughout her career.

Her international breakthrough in And God Created Woman would follow in 1956, but those earlier beach photographs had already demonstrated her extraordinary ability to command the camera’s attention.

Raquel’s most famous two-piece was a film costume rather than practical swimwear, but few bikini images have proved more enduring.

The actress wore the fur outfit as Loana in 1966’s One Million Years B.C. Despite having very little dialogue, she became the film’s defining attraction, with the publicity photograph turning into a hugely popular poster.

Her powerful stance, tousled hair and unmistakable silhouette helped make her an international sensation. The image opened doors in Hollywood, although Raquel subsequently faced the challenge of persuading the industry to look beyond her appearance.

Pamela already had modelling and television experience when she joined Baywatch in 1992, but its red swimsuit took her recognition worldwide.

As lifeguard C.J. Parker, she became inseparable from the show’s beach photographs, promotional posters and slow-motion opening sequences. The simple one-piece became one of television’s most recognisable costumes.

Its lasting appeal eventually earned it museum attention, with a swimsuit from her time on the series included in London’s Design Museum exhibition Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style. Decades later, the colour alone can still bring her character to mind.

Cheryl was already an established model when a 1978 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photograph brought her a fresh wave of attention.

Shot by Walter Iooss Jr. in Brazil, the image showed her walking in a wet white fishnet one-piece. Surprisingly, the memorable picture emerged from an attempt to rescue a shoot affected by poor light.

Its revealing appearance prompted both admiration and complaints, making it one of the magazine’s most talked-about photographs. Rather than introducing a newcomer, it helped turn a successful cover model into an even more widely recognised personality.

Kate’s rise gathered pace when she made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut in 2011 and was named Rookie of the Year.

The following year, her first cover placed her firmly in the spotlight. Photographed by Walter Iooss Jr. in Australia, she wore a red-and-brown bikini in an image that quickly became a defining early-career moment.

The attention extended beyond fashion, prompting conversations about body image and the industry’s expectations of models. Further covers followed, but that first front-page appearance helped establish Kate as one of her generation’s most recognisable faces.

Few screen entrances have made an impression quite like Ursula emerging from the sea as Honey Ryder in 1962’s Dr. No.

Her white bikini, accessorised with a belt and knife, became a defining image of the first James Bond film. Publicity photographs carried the moment beyond cinemas, helping transform the Swiss actress into an international star.

The outfit’s significance was clear to Ursula herself. Recalling the role in comments reproduced by Christie’s when the bikini was offered for auction, she said: “This bikini made me into a success.”