If you’ve ever fallen down a rabbit hole of vintage pin-up culture, you’ve likely seen her. She’s the blonde with the impossible silhouette and the kind of gaze that feels like she’s sharing a private joke with the camera.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, photos of June Wilkinson were practically inescapable.
She wasn't just a model. She was a phenomenon. At one point, the media literally crowned her "the most photographed nude in America," which is a wild title to hold in an era that included Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. But there’s a massive gap between the "sex symbol" imagery and the actual woman who navigated a cutthroat industry with a surprising amount of business savvy and a wicked sense of humor.
She wasn't some tragic figure. Far from it.
From Eastbourne to the Windmill
June was born in Eastbourne, England, in 1940. Her dad was a window cleaner. Her mom took in sewing. It was a standard, salt-of-the-earth upbringing that didn’t exactly scream "future Hollywood siren."
But the girl could dance.
By the time she was 12, she was on stage. By 15—a detail that feels genuinely shocking by modern standards—she was a topless dancer at London’s famous Windmill Theatre. She was "Baby June."
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She famously quipped later in life that "Big bosoms and Swan Lake don’t go together." Basically, she knew her physique was going to dictate her career path long before she ever hopped on a plane to the States.
The Playboy Era and the Russ Meyer Connection
In 1958, a promotional tour for a plastic houseware contest (yes, really) brought her to the U.S. That’s where Hugh Hefner found her.
Her first appearance in Playboy in September 1958 was titled simply "The Bosom." She was a brunette then. People forget that. The iconic blonde look didn't come until later, after she started working with future cult filmmaker Russ Meyer.
Meyer was obsessed with her. He photographed her for her second Playboy appearance and tried to get her into his ground-breaking film The Immoral Mr. Teas. Because of contract issues with Seven Arts, she couldn't officially be in it.
So, she did a favor.
If you look closely at one scene in that film, you can see her through a window. It was uncredited and unpaid, just a nod to a friend. That’s the kind of loyalty that defined her, even as her fame exploded. Between 1958 and 1970, she appeared in over 50 different men’s magazines. You literally couldn't walk past a newsstand without seeing photos of June Wilkinson.
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Beyond the Still Image: The Acting Grind
The misconception is that she was just a "cheesecake" model who happened to be in movies. In reality, June worked her tail off on stage and screen.
She did the dinner theater circuit. She performed with Milton Berle and Spike Jones. She even appeared in the 1960 voodoo flick Macumba Love, where the marketing team literally used her measurements (44-20-36) as a selling point.
Later, she landed a role in John Cassavetes' Too Late Blues (1962). She even showed up in the Batman TV series as Evelina. She wasn't winning Oscars, but she was consistently employed in an industry that usually discards women the second they turn thirty.
Why Her Photos Still Resonate
What makes photos of June Wilkinson different from the thousands of other starlets of the 1960s?
- The Technical Quality: She worked with the best. Photographers like Russ Meyer and the Playboy staff used high-end lighting and film that made her skin look like porcelain.
- The Authenticity: Unlike many of her contemporaries who played the "dumb blonde" trope, June always looked like she was in on the gag.
- The Longevity: She didn't disappear. She stayed healthy, became a fitness guru in Canada for a while, and even posed nude again in her late 50s for The Best of Glamour Girls: Then and Now.
She lived to be 85, passing away in July 2025. She outlasted the era that created her, which is the ultimate victory in Hollywood.
Facts You Might Not Know
June’s personal life was just as "Old Hollywood" as her career. She married Dan Pastorini, the star NFL quarterback, in 1973. It was a classic "Starlet meets Athlete" romance that ended in divorce but produced a daughter, Brahna.
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She also had a famous run-in with Jerry Lewis. During an interview, Lewis—being his typical chaotic self—tried to tickle her feet. June didn't giggle. She gave him a playful slap across the face.
She wasn't a pushover.
She eventually hosted a cable show called The Directors, where she interviewed filmmakers. She went from being the subject of the lens to the one asking the questions.
How to Appreciate Her Legacy Today
If you’re looking for photos of June Wilkinson to understand the history of glamour photography, don’t just look at the pin-ups. Look for the candids of her on the B.B.C. "Pleasure Boat" series in 1957 or the shots of her performing in Pajama Tops on Broadway.
That’s where you see the work.
The most important thing to remember is that June Wilkinson was a businesswoman who used her image to build a life on her own terms. She knew what the world wanted to see, and she gave it to them—but she always kept the best parts of herself for her own life.
Actionable Insights for Collectors and Historians
- Verify the Era: Early photos from 1957-1958 often show her as a brunette; these are significantly rarer than the blonde images from the 60s.
- Check the Credits: Look for shots attributed to Russ Meyer or Bunny Yeager for the highest artistic and historical value.
- Context Matters: Seek out "lobby cards" from her films like Career Girl or The Private Lives of Adam and Eve to see how she was marketed versus how she actually appeared on screen.
- Read the Memoir: For the full context behind the images, her 2023 autobiography Hollywood or Bust! provides the "unvarnished" stories that the magazines left out.