Denise Richards, 55, has stepped back into the pool that made her famous.
The actress recreated the signature wet-hair look from her 1998 erotic thriller “Wild Things” for a new photo shoot, makeup artist Pamela Brogardi revealed in an Instagram post Friday. Brogardi shared footage showing Richards submerging her long hair underwater, slicking it back, and posing seductively for the camera in what she teased as a “sneak peek from today’s shoot.”
Brogardi also posted a still image of Richards in a lacy black robe over a black swimsuit, her hands placed at the sides of her neck, with the pose strategically covering her breasts. The aesthetic directly echoes the movie poster for “Wild Things,” which featured Richards and co-star Neve Campbell emerging from clear blue water with wet hair alongside male co-stars Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon.
Richards has been candid about how unnerving the original filming experience was. “It was the first time I had filmed anything like that, so I was obviously extremely nervous,” she said in 2022. “There are a couple of scenes that are very risque. There’s a lot of choreography of figuring out who’s going where, so it’s not as sexy as people think.”
She continued, “I’m sure people must think that behind the scenes it’s very exciting, but it’s not. But I’m glad it comes off that sexy in the movie.”
The 1998 film cast Richards and Campbell as high school students who accuse their guidance counselor, played by Dillon, of rape, with Bacon portraying a corrupt cop investigating the allegations. Despite mixed reviews upon release, the thriller became a commercial success and cult classic, spawning two television film sequels — 2004’s “Wild Things 2” and 2005’s “Wild Things: Diamonds in the Rough” — plus a fourth installment, “Wild Things: Foursome,” released directly to DVD in 2010.
Richards’ comfort with her sex symbol image has complicated as her three daughters have grown older. Sami, now 22, Lola, 21, and Eloise, 15, have faced comments from friends about their mother’s provocative film work.
“My girls are starting to get older,” Richards told Yahoo Lifestyle Australia in 2019. “They have friends saying, ‘I saw this picture of your mom.'”
She added, “It’s weird for them, to see their mom in something that’s sexy or different. I think it would be very rude for me if it were my parents.”
That same year, Richards confirmed she had kept the film from her daughters while they remained under 16, calling it not “age appropriate.” “I definitely did not give them a copy,” she said. “I told them, ‘I don’t want you guys watching this’ because one of my daughters brought it up to me and I was shocked.”
The “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum has maintained a steady presence in entertainment since her breakthrough role, though the pool scene remains among her most referenced work nearly three decades later.
Richards’ latest photoshoot comes after she has openly discussed undergoing cosmetic procedures, with the outlet reporting she received a $200,000 facelift.
The actress continues to balance her enduring screen persona with family life, occasionally sharing glimpses of both with her social media following.