Seven Playmates
from over the years to come back and recreate their iconic covers, reminding
us that beauty is ageless,
sex appeal is timeless and exuberance is eternal!
The new covers have been made by photographers Ben Miller and Ryan Lowry,
about 30 years after the release of the previous ones.
sex appeal is timeless and exuberance is eternal!
The new covers have been made by photographers Ben Miller and Ryan Lowry,
about 30 years after the release of the previous ones.
August Playmate 1982
“I love
disco. What can I say? I had my party at Studio 54 when my centerfold came out.
It was really cool. The song “Centerfold” by the J. Geils Band had come out
that month, so when I walked out, all these photos of my face came down from
the ceiling to that song. I had already been married and worked as the
executive for a company. When I came to L.A., I wasn’t planning on being a
model. I’d never been a model! It was a totally new life. I was 27, so I was
more mature, but I was still crazy. Monique was my sidekick and we were bad! I
don’t remember most of the eighties. If you lived it, you don’t remember it.”
Playmate of the Year 1989, January Playmate 1988
“I’m from
Alabama originally, but I grew up in west Vancouver. The sweetness comes from
the South! Money doesn’t buy manners. I moved to Los Angeles and – boom – there
it was. Hef and I started dating, got married, had kids, and the rest is
history. There was a common misconception that I put the kibosh on the partying
at the Mansion. It had nothing to do with me. The Playmates still came over,
but it was nice to have them call and say, ‘Hi! I’m coming up!’ Let the office
know. It was still wide open. It was still the ultimate restaurant and health
club with a 24-hour membership. We never refused anyone, ever. But it’s nice to
know that there’s going to be people in your house when you’re coming
downstairs in the morning. [Laughs] It was always an open door and open gate.
It was just a different time, you know?”
December Playmate 1982
“My roommate was Jill De
Vries. She was already a Playmate and she kept on saying, ‘You’ve
got to do Playboy with those boobs!’ I kept saying, ‘No, no.’ So one afternoon
we got drunk and walked down to Playboy in Chicago. I had never done anything
naked. I was still a virgin. That was Saturday night. By Sunday morning there
was a limousine there to take me to L.A. On Monday we shot. It was an absolute
whirlwind. I had a Playmate running team. I had ten girls on the team and we’d
run marathons, all around the country, raising money for charities.”
Playmate of the Year 1979,
November Playmate 1978
“I was a fashion model
first. I was already kind of known a little bit before Playboy. When my
issue came out, it exploded. I loved my experience. I lived at the Mansion for
about a year. Hef said, ‘Believe me, you pay your rent because you make all the
girls feel comfortable when they come to the house.’ I’ve always been a little
bit of a mama. I was always taking care of the girls and I’m still doing the
same thing. I run a recovery house for women addicted to alcohol and drugs.
What I’m doing now is such an honor and privilege. I get to witness miracles.”
Playmate of the Year 1990,
November 1989 Playmate
“When I
did Playboy, there was a little bit of controversy because I was the first
African-American Playmate of the Year and some women were saying I was being
objectified. But I said, ‘Well, if you’re pro-choice, shouldn’t I have the
right to choose what I want to do?’ If I want to pose nude, I should be able to
pose nude! When the issue came out, the response was 90% positive and maybe 10%
didn’t like it. If you look back, all the big models from Christy Turlington to
Naomi Campbell posed nude. I see it as art. Not everybody sees it that way, but
that’s how I see it.”
December Playmate 1979
“I appeared on eight
Playboy covers (two U.S., six international) and the first time was a blur. I
was a Bunny at the Chicago Playboy Club and did a lot of promo shoots. I even
had a life-size poster in all the clubs around the world to promote key club
sales. The Playboy photogs and assistants were all friends of mine and would
have me come up to the photo studio from time. I did a lot of test cover shoots
and I never knew which one Hef would like. They were always professional and no
sooner would they pay any special attention to a nude or semi-clad model than a
milkman pays to his bottles. It was a job, granted a job they wanted done
perfectly, but still a job. I now know just how special those shoots were and
feel very, very lucky to be in such a unique sorority.”
Playmate of the Year 1991,
April Playmate 1990
“I was at
a regular modeling agency in L.A. and a girl who I’d become friends with there
had done her centerfold. I don’t think I’d ever even seen the magazine. We were
together on a job in Utah and went and bought her issue. We probably went to a
7-Eleven. She brought me in to do a test, and the next week, I shot. It was
like, ‘You’re in. Done. We’re shooting now!’ Once it came out, I remember I’d
be traveling and people would come up to me. The thing they’d always say is,
‘You’re name is Lisa, right?’ And then they’d say, ‘I think I’ve seen you in a
national magazine.’ I’d sit there and say, ‘Oh, which one?’ Like you have to
say it! If you have enough guts to come up and say something, then you’ve got
to be able to say Playboy. The funniest place that happened was outside the
Vatican in Rome.”
Photography by Ben Miller and Ryan Lowry
playboy.com
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