She's very publicly stated that she wouldn't ever do gratuitous nude scenes - so we can only presume from these pictures of Jessica Alba that the script of her latest movie must have been very good indeed.

The fact it's an arthouse action film based on Mexican B-movies called Machete makes Alba revealing her birthday suit all the more baffling - not that we imagine her admirers are complaining.

The Latino star told Scarlet magazine in February that she would never bare all for the cameras, saying: "No, I'll never do a nude scene. I can act sexy and wear sexy clothes but I can't go naked."

The Sin City star continued: "I think I was always very uncomfortable about the way my body developed, and I remember my grandmother would freak out and throw a towel over me if she saw me wearing just a bra and panties.

"I come from a very Catholic family so it wasn't seen as a good thing to flaunt yourself like that. I can handle being sexy with clothes on but not with them off."