Even by the standards of the 1970s—a decade that famously gave us Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby (1978)—the Playboy spread was shocking. Hugh Hefner’s magazine, which typically featured women in their 20s, was now publishing images of a pre-adolescent girl. The legal age of consent in France was, at the time, 15, but Eva was 11.
Eva now shoots only models over 21. However, her themes (young-looking women, doll-like poses, schoolgirl motifs) continue to provoke. In a 2023 interview, she said: “I am not exploiting. I am exorcising.” eva ionesco playboy magazine updated
To understand the Playboy photos, one must understand the mother. Eva Ionesco was born in 1965 in Paris. Her mother, Irina Ionesco, was a provocative photographer known for her hyper-stylized, erotic images of young girls in opulent, decadent settings. Irina began photographing Eva when she was just four years old. Eva Ionesco and Playboy Magazine: An Updated Look