In 1963, Shirley MacLaine did it, in 1978, Brooke Shields did it, and in 1983, Rebecca De Mornay did it. What did they do? They played the role of hookers in films. What were the film's titles?

Portraying a prostitute on screen has often been a path to critical acclaim or cultural notoriety, and these three actresses represent distinct moments in film history. In 1963, Shirley MacLaine starred in Billy Wilder's romantic comedy *Irma la Douce*, playing a cheerful and popular Parisian prostitute who charms an honest ex-cop. The film was a major box office success and earned MacLaine a Golden Globe for her performance.

Fifteen years later, Brooke Shields took on a far more controversial version of the role in the 1978 period drama *Pretty Baby*. Directed by Louis Malle, the film featured a 12-year-old Shields as a child prostitute in the Storyville district of New Orleans in 1917, sparking significant debate. In 1983, Rebecca De Mornay created an iconic '80s character as Lana in *Risky Business*. Her role as a cool, enterprising call girl who upends a teenager's life helped launch Tom Cruise to superstardom and became a defining part of the decade's pop culture landscape.