Actress Cate Blanchett recently agreed to publish a very risky photo of herself that not too many other members of Hollywood would be willing to agree to.

The photograph, which appears in Intelligent Life, does not depict Blanchett without clothes or sporting a bare pregnant stomach. Those things may appear all too common in this day and age, and Blanchett's risk is arguably one much less common and far more risqué. Instead Blanchett has simplified things and posed as nothing more than Kate Blanchett.

The actress, who has appeared in films like "Lord of the Rings" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has received more than one Academy award. Blanchett and her husband have also as of late, spent time serving as artistic directors for the Sydney Theatre Company.

On Wednesday it was announced that Blanchett would appear with Alan Cummings and other stars in the 2012 summer Lincoln Center Festival.

The one night event which will occur on July 20 will include 72 performances.

So what is so unique about Blanchett's cover pose? Instead of being glammed up by a fashion designer in an extravagant outfit, the actress is instead wearing her usual working clothes. Taking it one step further, the actress also only dons minimal makeup and the publishers have promised that not an inch of Photoshop work was done on the picture.

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The magazine charged other publications with attempting to have their cake and eat it too. "Publishers want a recognizable person on the cover, with a real career; but they also want an empty vessel -for clothes and jewelry and make-up, which often seem to be supplied by the advertisers with the most muscle," magazine editor Tim de Lisle commented on his blog.

"Cate Blanchett, by contrast, appears on our cover in her working clothes, with the odd line on her face and faint bags under her eyes. She looks like what she is-a woman of 42, spending her days in an office, her evenings on stage and the rest of her time looking after three young children."