Pirelli’s starry calendar focused on acting talent, not skin

LONDON – Pirelli has unveiled a star-studded lineup for its 2017 calendar that looks more like the ultimate Oscar red carpet than the stuff of salacious pinups.

Among the subjects announced Sunday are actresses Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Kate Winslet, Julianne Moore, Robin Wright, Rooney Mara, Lupita Nyong’o, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, Lea Seydoux, Zhang Ziyi and Charlotte Rampling. The youngest model, Alicia Vikander, is 27; the eldest, Helen Mirren, is 71.

German photographer Peter Lindbergh, who also shot Pirelli’s trade calendar in 1996 and 2002, has been influential in shifting its concept from titillation toward a more cerebral sex appeal. This calendar features more character, less skin; more T-shirts and turtlenecks, fewer bikinis.

Lindbergh tells Vogue his visual theme is “that talent is more important than a great body.”

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This story has been corrected to show that the surnames of two actresses are Ziyi, not Zei, and Seydoux, not Seydroux.