Playboy magazine covers: from Kate Moss to Kim Kardashian, we chart the iconic front pages as founder Hugh Hefner dies aged 91

The glamour magazine mogul founded Playboy in 1953 with Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover
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Charlie Teather28 September 2017

Known for its glamorous models and no-holds-barred attitude to female nudity, Playboy has played host to some of the world's most talked-about magazine covers.

Founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner - thanks in part to a $1,000 loan from his mother - Playboy is most well-known for its nude and semi-nude covers and centrefolds, but the magazine also features impressive monthly interviews with notable public figures.

The first issue - which was published in December 1953 but appeared undated as Hefner was unsure there would be a second - starred Marilyn Monroe.

Priced at just 50 cents it sold out in a matter of weeks, with copies being resold for over $5,000 in the early 2000s.

Widely regarded as having played an important role in the sexual revolution, Hefner's venture continued to gain ground within popular culture and reportedly rendered his worth over $200 million at the magazine's peak.

After Monroe's appearance on the magazine's debut issue, Playboy attracted a whole host of celebrities for its cover.

With Cindy Crawford, Kim Kardashian, Drew Barrymore, Pamela Anderson, Madonna and - somewhat surprisingly - Seth Rogan all having posed for Hefner, British supermodel Kate Moss thrilled fans by signing up in February 2014 to cover the magazine's 60th anniversary issue.

Click through our gallery to take a look back at some of the magazine's most popular covers

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