Padma Lakshmi Bares It All in Sizzling Calendar Photoshoot

Padma Lakshmi is no stranger to showing skin. The longtime Top Chef host first cut her teeth as a model, so posing for scantily clad photos is something she's been doing for decades, making her an easy choice to appear in next year's Pirelli calendar.  

While a calendar from a tire brand might not seem like the most exciting thing, the Pirelli calendar is famous for its avant-garde photo shoots that will make any casual viewer forget what the brand even sells. In Lakshmi's photo, she's standing tall wearing nothing but a sheer piece of fabric over her body. Her arm covers her breasts as she stares off into the distance, showing viewers everything except her most intimate body parts. 

Getting to be a part of an iconic photo collection was a dream come true for Lakshmi. 

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"I was very excited. I couldn't believe it," the 54-year-old told Hello! magazine of the shoot. "Every time someone says Pirelli, I don't think tires; I think calendar. I think beautiful fashion photography and tasteful artistic pictures always exalting the female form." 

Related: Padma Lakshmi Flaunts Her Body in New Lingerie Photo Shoot

While Lakshmi might appear totally confident in showing off her body in her mid-50s, it wasn't always that way. She told Page Six earlier this year that it was a journey to get there, but she loves everything about her body now. 

"I’ve modeled a lot of lingerie in my time, and I love lingerie. I love wearing really pretty things," she said. She's so happy with where she is now that she doesn't even want to relive her younger years. "I would never go back to my 20s," she said. "Even if it meant I had a body that was more fit and skinny and tight and high in all the right places."

Lakshmi's travel show Taste the Nation is streaming now on Hulu.