Hilary Duff poses nude on the cover of Women’s Health magazine

The How I Met Your Father star has stripped down and bared all for a jaw-dropping new photo shoot – and fans have gone wild.

Actress Hilary Duff has stripped down and posed nude for a magazine cover, opening up about body image in Hollywood in the accompanying interview.

Women’s Health’s “Body Issue” featured the image on its latest cover, with the How I Met Your Father star admitting stripping down for the shoot was “scary”.

“I’m proud of my body. I’m proud that it’s produced three children for me. I’ve gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through,” she told the magazine.

Hilary Duff’s Women’s Health photo shoot. Picture: Daniella Midenge for Women’s Health

“I also want people to know a makeup artist was there putting glow all over my body and someone put me in the most flattering position.”

Duff also shared a photo from the cover on her Instagram, saying that despite the shoot terrifying her, she had the “best time”.

In the caption, she wrote: “Sooooo, this was scary … I knew doing this would terrify me and I was right!”

She added that the team working with her had been “lovely” and that she’d actually had “the best time”.

“I’m proud of my body. I’m proud that it’s produced three children for me.” Picture: Daniella Midenge for Women’s Health

Duff’s fans were quick to offer their support for the jaw-dropping photos, with many commenting simply: “Wow.”

“These pics are PHENOMENAL and you will look back someday and be so happy you did it! Gorgeous,” wrote one user.

“You look absolutely incredible,” added another.

Hilary Duff is the central character in the new How I Met Your Mother spin-off. Picture: hilaryduff/Instagram

In order to prepare for the shoot, Duff trained four days a week, lifting weights and focusing on strength training.

The How I Met Your Father actress, 34, also talked about her love of tattoos – Duff has more than 20 spread across her arms and other parts of her body, mostly with an “earthy” theme, save for a few fun designs that match with friends – and most recently added the word “mother” to her neck in a delicate font.

“I think at 34, I’ve just gained a lot of respect for my body,” she said. “It’s taken me all the places I need to go, it’s helped me build a beautiful family.”

Duff has also been challenging herself to stick to a consistent therapy routine and add meditation to her self-care practice.

“We bust our a** to get our bodies in shape and to look the best we can. We get facials and Botox and our hair done and highlights and brows and lash lifts and all this sh*t,” she said. “But I want to work on the inside. That’s the most important part of the system.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission