Editing Kim Basinger (section)

===Worldwide exposure (1983–1989)===
[[File:Kim Basinger beach.jpg|thumb|upright|1983 pinup poster of Basinger in a swimsuit from [[Playboy Enterprises]]]]

Her breakthrough role came as [[Domino Petachi]], the [[Bond girl]] in ''[[Never Say Never Again]]'' (1983), where she starred opposite [[Sean Connery]]. In his review of the film, Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said Basinger "looks like a voluptuous sibling of [[Liv Ullmann]] and has a certain something."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1983/10/06/never-better-than-ever/b5babfa7-6e5a-413e-a081-6138dbd4d03c/|author=Arnold, Gary|date=October 6, 1983|access-date=May 2, 2016|title='Never': Better Than Ever|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Worldwide, ''Never Say Never Again'' grossed US$160 million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Never-Say-Never-Again|title=Never Say Never Again (1983) - Financial Information|website=The Numbers}}</ref> As part of its promotion, Basinger did a famous nude pictorial for ''[[Playboy]]'',{{Sfn|Britton|1998|p=7}} which she has said led to good opportunities, such as her role as the romantic interest of a baseball team star in [[Barry Levinson]]'s ''[[The Natural (film)|The Natural]]'' (1984), alongside [[Robert Redford]], for which she earned a [[Golden Globe]] nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

[[Blake Edwards]] cast her twice in his films; as a beautiful woman married to a Texas millionaire in ''[[The Man Who Loved Women (1983 film)|The Man Who Loved Women]]'' (1983), and as an apparently shy woman who goes on a date with a workaholic man in ''[[Blind Date (1987 film)|Blind Date]]'' (1987). [[Robert Altman]] cast Basinger in the role of a woman hiding from her former lover at an old motel in ''[[Fool for Love (1985 film)|Fool for Love]]'' (1985). In 1986, Basinger starred as a New York City art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wall Street broker, opposite [[Mickey Rourke]], in [[Adrian Lyne]]'s controversial erotic romantic drama ''[[9½ Weeks]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=With Her Latest Role, Blond Beauty Kim Basinger Goes from Bond to Bondage|magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] magazine|date=August 8, 1985|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20091424,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116132855/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20091424,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2014|access-date=August 12, 2013}}</ref> Though the film failed at the North American box office, it performed very well in Europe, especially France, and acquired a large American fanbase on home video and cable. [[Roger Ebert]] praised the film, comparing it to ''[[Last Tango in Paris]]'', and said Basinger helped "develop an erotic tension [...] that is convincing, complicated and sensual."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/9-12-weeks-1986|author=Ebert, Roger|date=February 21, 1986|access-date=May 1, 2016|title=9 1/2 Weeks Movie Review|work=The Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref>

Writer-director [[Robert Benton]] also cast her in the title role of a slightly pregnant woman in trouble for ''[[Nadine (1987 film)|Nadine]]'' (1987). While most of the films Basinger starred in during this period were released to varying degrees of success, they helped to establish her as an actress. With over US$400 million in box office totals,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=batman.htm|title=Batman (1989) - Box Office Mojo|website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> the highest-grossing film of her career thus far is [[Tim Burton]]'s 1989 film ''[[Batman (1989 film)|Batman]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Kim Basinger Movie Box Office Results|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=kimbasinger.htm|access-date=August 11, 2012}}</ref> in which Basinger took on role of photojournalist [[Vicki Vale]], opposite [[Michael Keaton]]. Basinger re-wrote the film's third act with producer [[Jon Peters]] with whom she was having a behind the scenes [[affair]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://batman-news.com/2017/01/18/kim-basinger-write-1989-batman-ending|author=Begley, Chris|date=January 18, 2017|access-date=February 1, 2024|title=Producer: Kim Basinger helped me write the 1989 'Batman' ending|work=Batman News}}</ref> ''The Hollywood Reporter'', in its original review, remarked that "the uniqueness and very soul of the film [...] is achieved through the beautifully defined and probing performances of Michael Keaton as [[Bruce Wayne]] and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/batman-thrs-1989-review-801339|title='Batman': THR's 1989 Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=23 June 2015}}</ref>