Geena Davis' Inappropriate 2000 Emmys Dress Left Little To The Imagination

Year after year, the Emmys shows us questionable fashion choices. Geena Davis landed on the unfortunate worst-dressed list way back in 2000 thanks to a completely sheer dress that left little to the imagination. The garment wasn't just see-through — it was also uber tight, hugging her figure to make it even more revealing. Designed by Pamela Dennis, the black-and-white dress was made entirely of sequins arranged in such a way to create psychedelic ripples all throughout. 

Unsurprisingly, Davis made a splash as soon as she walked onto the red carpet. Not only was the "Thelma & Louise" star not wearing a bra, she also donned a G-string that made it look like she was completely nude underneath. The piece was so shocking that many wondered whether Davis was aware that it was actually see-through. It turned out that she did. "Of course I knew that dress was sheer," she told The New York Times in 2000. "I had looked right at it in the mirror. It showed exactly as much as I wanted to show."

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The dress did show a whole lot, but modern lenses have softened how viewers see it today. After all, we've grown used to seeing risky and inappropriate outfits even at political events. In a world where Bianca Censori walks around nearly naked, a see-through dress at the Emmys seems pretty mild by today's standards. "Geena was just ahead of her time, people weren't ready for that," a Reddit user gushed in 2025. We can't deny she looked pretty good, see-through dress or not.

Geena Davis' 2000 Emmys dress may have been her most controversial, but it wasn't the only one that drew criticism. In 1992, she made headlines after showing up to the Oscars in a silk white dress (seen above) that was deemed inappropriate on many counts. It featured a frilly skirt with matching train and a corset bodice with a plunging neckline that put her busty figure on full display. It isn't hard to see why she landed on pretty much every worst-dressed list that year.

Still, Davis didn't expect the backlash. "I was surprised," she told Us Weekly in 2025. She thought she looked great in the custom-made dress, and several other female actors agreed. They even joked about having a bunch of them made so they could attend events in matching dresses. "They were like, 'Yeah, let's all wear copies of it!' It was my favorite fantasy — that we would do that. But I thought it was awesome," she said.

If there was one detail Davis would change if she were to wear the dress again would be the black pantyhose. "I think that would've helped if I didn't," she said. Once again, time seems to have helped her case, with plenty of social media users defending her choice today. "Have people put this dress on the worst dressed list? Yes. Do I think it's a fun dress for a hot person to wear? Yes," a Reddit user argued. Regardless of what one might think of the look, we can all agree Davis is anything but boring.