Elizabeth Berkley channels Nomi Malone again, marking 30 years since Showgirls hit the big screen.
PublishedNovember 13, 2025 6:00 PM EST•UpdatedNovember 13, 2025 5:32 PM EST
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Believe it or not, the movie Showgirls is 30 years old. It was released in the U.S. on September 22, 1995. It took actress Elizabeth Berkley from the halls of Saved by the Bell to the world of Las Vegas strippers.
In a touching tribute to her role as Nomi Malone in the film, now considered a cult classic, the 53-year-old slipped into some Showgirls attire for fashion designer Betsey Johnson to celebrate the 30th anniversary.
Actress Elizabeth Berkley on the set of “Showgirls” directed by Dutch Paul Verhoeven. (Photo by Murray Close/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
It’s a move Nomi, the mysterious young drifter who hitched a ride to Vegas then found work as a stripper before setting out to claw her way to the top of the Vegas showgirls, would be proud of.
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You can’t blame Berkley for getting in on the nostalgia of the anniversary and riding it out the entire year. After all, she gave so much to the role.
Not just on the set and in the film, but of herself and her career.
Elizabeth Berkley Revisits Her Iconic Nomi Malone Role 30 Years Later
Berkley claims it was a rough couple of years after the movie came out for her. She says it wasn’t easy finding work. But we all know hard times don’t last, hard people do.
“For a good two years, I wasn’t allowed to audition for things,” Berkley told the Hollywood Reporter. “The hardest part was being literally locked out of something I loved so much.”
Making magic like Showgirls can take as much as it gives. Thankfully, she was able to claw her way back out and not hold a grudge against the film.
If she had, we may never have gotten this tribute to, essentially, herself. That would have been a tragedy far worse than being locked out of auditions.
Could you imagine a world where nobody took a moment to appreciate the genius of this movie 30 years after it hit theaters? I’m not going to dare imagine that.
I’m going to choose to, instead, focus on what is. And what is, is Elizabeth Berkley once again giving of herself for her craft. She didn’t have to do this, but she did.Â
Bravo, Elizabeth Berkley. Thank you for all your hard work, especially in Showgirls, a movie I’ve never been able to make it through from start to finish.