Dennis Scholl and Kareem Tabsch’s documentary Naked Ambition is a lovely cultural portrait of a neglected artist who shaped what is now considered an art form. The subject, Bunny Yeager, was far more than the glamorous face and figure who once stood in front of the camera. She became one of the most influential photographers of her generation, capturing pin-up and female nude photography in ways that defined the mid-century look while pushing the boundaries of women’s roles in a male-dominated field. The film brings her story forward, balancing a celebration of her accomplishments with a look at the complexities of how her work has been received even within her own family, and within the broader art world.
Bunny Yeager was a beautiful model in the 1950s who entered beauty contests, which were popular then, and cultivated the photogenic presence that would make her a recognizable figure in front of the camera. Her ambition was not to remain a subject of the male gaze but to master the camera herself. Yeager became a featured photographer early in Playboy magazine during its formative years, creating an artistic look that helped the brand’s presentation of female beauty. She helped shape the look of Playboy at a time when Hugh Hefner was only beginning to define its identity, and in so doing, she carved out a place for herself in a space overwhelmingly dominated by men.
This connection to Playboy is no small footnote. The fact that one of the “prettiest photographers in the world, “as she was often called, was also central to establishing a visual language that would become globally influential cannot be understated. Hefner may have been the publisher, but Yeager’s eye, discipline, and creativity helped set the magazine apart in its earliest years.
The documentary wisely avoids presenting Yeager as a one-dimensional success story. Instead, it allows us to see the personal sacrifices and the tragedy of her husband’s suicide are brought forth, along with the contradictions inherent in her life. Yeager was not only a pioneering photographer but also a wife and mother of two. The film shows how she balanced or tried to with her career ambitions and the responsibilities of family life, often walking a tightrope between professional recognition and domestic expectations.
“She became one of the most influential photographers of her generation…”
What makes her story compelling is precisely this duality: she pursued her career with determination, working with now icons like Betty Page, but she did so without discarding her roles as spouse and parent that were part of being a female during the fifties and sixties. In fact, her children’s testimonies provide some of the most engaging moments in the film.
Naked Ambition captures the dynamic between Yeager’s two daughters, who hold sharply different views on their mother’s work. The eldest remains skeptical, regarding her mother’s nude photography as potentially exploitative or disrespectful to women. The younger, who now actively works to preserve and present the archive, views it as a celebration of female form and strength, and is proud of her mother’s legacy. Even within one family, the meaning and value of Yeager’s work are contested.
“Talking head’ and archival interviews, family anecdotes, and even a recorded phone call between Yeager and Betty Page in the 1990s lend an intimacy to the narrative. The documentary is rich in people, including figures such as the late Larry King, Bruce Weber, and the late Hugh Hefner. These voices, alongside Yeager’s contemporaries and admirers, paint a picture of an artist who remained modest about her own significance. She never considered herself a trailblazer, yet the endurance of her work speaks volumes about her impact.
The filmmakers fill the screen with photographs, footage, music, and period details, making the documentary a visual feast as America renegotiated its relationship with sex, beauty, and gender. Even the changes to the market for Yeager’s work in the seventies, with more explicit Porn becoming the vogue in those pre-Internet days in film and magazines.
At 85, Yeager lived to see her work rediscovered and reassessed by new generations. Naked Ambition makes clear why this rediscovery matters: she set a template for so much that followed, often without receiving the recognition she deserved. The documentary gives her that recognition.
"…a visual feast..."
