A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOM). The PMOM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and turn-offs. At the end of the year, one of the twelve Playmates of the Month is named Playmate of the Year (PMOY). Currently, Playmates of the Month are paid US$25,000 and Playmates of the Year receive an additional US$100,000 plus a car and a motorcycle. In addition, Anniversary Playmates are usually chosen to celebrate a milestone year of the magazine.
Playboy encourages potential Playmates to send photos with "girl next door" appeal for consideration; others may submit photos of Playmate candidates, and may be eligible for a finder's fee if their model is selected. In addition, "casting calls" are held regularly in major US cities to offer opportunities for women to test for Playboy. The Playboy photographers and Hugh Hefner then select which models become Playmates. The Playmate of the Year is chosen personally by Hugh Hefner, taking into account an annual readers' poll.
According to Playboy, there is no such thing as a former Playmate because "Once a Playmate, always a Playmate".
Marilyn Monroe, who was featured in the first issue, was the only one to appear as "Sweetheart of the Month". The first model called a Playmate of the Month was Margie Harrison, Miss January 1954, in the second issue of Playboy. Generally a woman may appear only once as a Playmate, but in the early years of the magazine, some models were featured multiple times. Marilyn Waltz (February 1954, April 1954, April 1955 – her first appearance was as Margaret Scott) and Janet Pilgrim (July 1955, December 1955, and October 1956) are tied for the most appearances. Margie Harrison (January 1954, June 1954) and Marguerite Empey (May 1955, February 1956) are the only other women to appear more than once as Playmates.
Under current law in most US jurisdictions, publishing nude pictures of a model younger than 18 would be a felony. However, in the early years of the magazine, laws regarding corruption of a minor were less well established. Several playmates – including Nancy Crawford (April 1959), Donna Michelle (December 1963), Linda Moon (October 1966), Patti Reynolds (September 1965) and Teddi Smith (July 1960) – posed when they were seventeen. Elizabeth Ann Roberts (January 1958) – whose pictorial was called "Schoolmate Playmate" – posed when she was sixteen. Hugh Hefner and Roberts' mother were arrested as a result, but the case was subsequently dismissed because Roberts' mother had signed a statement that her daughter was eighteen before the photo shoot. In more recent years, Ursula Buchfellner posed for the German edition of Playboy when she was sixteen and subsequently posed for the American edition (October 1979) when she was eighteen. Dutch Playmate twins Karin and Mirjam van Breeschooten appeared at age seventeen in their country's edition of Playboy in June 1988, at eighteen, they were Misses September 1989 in the US version. The youngest – i.e. last born – Playmate, as of April 2015 is Alexandra Tyler, born May 9, 1994.
Some women have become Playmates in their 30's. Rebecca Anne Ramos (January 2003) is the oldest Playmate to date, appearing in her shoot at the age of 35.
First Playmate: Margie Harrison (Miss January 1954) in the second issue of Playboy. Marilyn Monroe, who was featured in the first issue, was the only one to appear as "Sweetheart of the Month".First Playmate to be chosen three times: Marilyn Waltz (Miss February 1954, April 1954, and April 1955 - her first appearance was as Margaret Scott)First and only month in Playboy history (to date) not have a Playmate – March 1955 (no issue published)First centerfold (two-page): Janet Pilgrim (Miss July 1955)First fold-out centerfold (three-page): Marian Stafford (Miss March 1956)First foreign-born Playmate: Marion Scott (Miss May 1956) was born in Germany.First Playmate who was not an American citizen: Elsa Sorensen (Miss September 1956) was a citizen of Denmark.Youngest Playmate ever featured: Elizabeth Ann Roberts (Miss January 1958) appeared at age 16.First issue to feature two Playmates (two in the same month, in separate photos): Pat Sheehan and Mara Corday (Misses October 1958)First Playmate to fill out a Playmate Data Sheet (not included): Marianne Gaba (Miss September 1959)First Playmate to become Playmate of the Year (1960): Ellen Stratton (Miss December 1959)First Playmate to have died: Tonya Crews (Miss March 1961) died in an automobile accident on August 7, 1966. (This again discounts Marilyn Monroe, who died in 1962, but was billed in her Playboy appearance as "Sweetheart of the Month", not as a Playmate.)First foreign-born PMOY: Christa Speck (Miss September 1961) was born August 1, 1942 in Danzig.First Canadian Playmate in US Playboy: Pamela Anne Gordon (Miss March 1962)First Asian-American Playmate: China Lee (Miss August 1964)First Dutch Playmate in US Playboy: Astrid Schultz (Miss September 1964)First African-American Playmate: Jennifer Jackson (Miss March 1965)First Playmate to get breast implants: Sue Williams (Miss April 1965)First Playmate under 5 feet tall: Sue Williams (Miss April 1965) was 4' 11".First Playmate to commit suicide: Sue Williams committed suicide on September 2, 1969.First twins to be Playmates: Mary Collinson and Madeleine Collinson (Misses October 1970)First Playmate to show clearly visible pubic hair: Liv Lindeland (Miss January 1971)First Playmate to pose for a full frontal nude centerfold: Marilyn Cole (Miss January 1972)First Playmate to pose for a full frontal nude centerfold with clearly visible entire pubic hair: Bonnie Large (Miss March 1973)First Playmate to be younger than Playboy: Monica Tidwell (Miss November 1973) was born in January 1954, when Playboy's second issue was on the newsstand.First and only Playmate to have a double-sided, front-and-back centerfold: Nancy Cameron (Miss January 1974) was the 20th anniversary Playmate.First Hispanic-American Playmate: Ester Cordet (Miss October 1974) was from Panama.First Playmate with signed centerfold: Jill De Vries (Miss October 1975)First sisters to be Playmates in different months: Janice Pennington (Miss May 1971) and Ann Pennington (Miss March 1976)First Playmate Data Sheet (included): Sondra Theodore (Miss July 1977)First video Playmate (1982): Lonny Chin was also the magazine centerfold in the January 1983 issue.First mother and daughter to be Playmates: Carol Eden (Miss December 1960) and her daughter Simone Eden (Miss February 1989)First Playmate cartoon character to appear on the cover of the magazine Marge Simpson (November 2009)First Playmate to become a LGBT spokesmodel and advocate in the LGBT community: Stephanie Adams (Miss November 1992)First Playmate with visible tattoo on centerfold: Jennifer LeRoy (Miss February 1993)First Playmate with visible navel piercing on centerfold: Gillian Bonner (Miss April 1996)First Playmate of the Month to be a Penthouse Pet of the Month in any edition (November 1985, German Edition) as well: Ursula Buchfellner (Miss October 1979, as well as the December 1977 for the German edition of Playboy)First Playmate of the Month to be a Penthouse Pet of the Month in both the American editions (October 2000) as well: Linn Thomas (Miss May 1997)First triplets to be Playmates: Erica, Nicole and Jaclyn Dahm (Misses December 1998)First Playmate without pubic hair: Dalene Kurtis (Miss September 2001)First Playboy Cyber Girl to become Playmate: Stephanie Heinrich (Miss October 2001) is the first Cyber Girl of the Week (September 2000), as well as the first Cyber Girl of the Month (January 2001).First Playmate to have been Miss USA (1995): Shanna Moakler (Miss December 2001)First Mexican-American Playmate of the Year: Raquel Pomplun (2013 and Miss April 2012)In the early days of Playboy, there was no official prize for the most popular Playmate at the end of each year. Although February 1954 Playmate Marilyn Waltz gained much popularity, receiving more fan mail than any other Playmate that year, she was not crowned PMOY. Neither was December 1956 Playmate Lisa Winters who was named Playmate of the Year, and although Joyce Nizzari, Miss December 1958, was named the "most popular" Playmate of 1958, the PMOY competition was first officially won in 1960 by Miss December 1959, Ellen Stratton. The 2009 PMOY, Ida Ljungqvist, was the 50th PMOY and the second model of African descent to win the title, the first being Renee Tenison.
A PMOY makes her appearance the year following her first appearance as PMOM. This feature is usually published in the June issue, although sometimes it has been published in the May or July issue. Until 2003, each year's Playmate of the Year would routinely appear on the cover of her PMOY issue, in which her PMOY pictorial is featured. However, from 2003 to 2005, PMOYs did not appear on the covers of their PMOY issues, and 2007 PMOY Sara Jean Underwood did not either. Instead, celebrities appearing in celebrity pictorials in the PMOY issues appeared on the covers. The 2010 PMOY, Hope Dworaczyk, did appear on the cover, and was the first model to be the subject of a three-dimensional Playboy centerfold photograph.
The typical age for a Playmate of the Year stands at 23.5 years, marginally older than the average Playmate of the Month, who is 22.4 years. Donna Michelle set a record in 1964 by becoming the youngest Playmate of the Year at the age of 18. Jo Collins (1965) and Christa Speck (1962) both were 19. Sharon Clark (1971), Karen McDougal (1998) and Ida Ljungqvist (2009) became PMOY at the age of 27. Only three women became PMOY in their 30s: Tiffany Fallon (2005) at 31, Kathy Shower (1986) at 33, and Eugena Washington (2016) at 32.
60th Anniversary (January 2014): Roos van Montfort55th Anniversary (January 2009): Dasha Astafieva50th Anniversary (January 2004): Colleen Shannon45th Anniversary (January 1999): Jaime Bergman40th Anniversary (January 1994): Anna-Marie Goddard35th Anniversary (January 1989): Fawna MacLaren30th Anniversary (January 1984): Penny Baker25th Anniversary (January 1979): Candy Loving20th Anniversary (January 1974): Nancy Cameron15th Anniversary (January 1969): Leslie Bianchini10th Anniversary (December 1963): Donna Michelle5th Anniversary (December 1958): Joyce NizzariPlaymates who became known for more than their Playboy appearance(s) include (with the date of their appearance):
Pamela Anderson (February 1990), actressLynne Austin (July 1986), original spokesmodel for HootersMarina Baker (March 1987), journalist, children's book author, mayor of Telscombe, East Sussex, EnglandBebe Buell (November 1974), author and mother of Liv TylerKayla Collins (August 2008), fashion designer with own swimsuit range and founder of The Dollhouse Project.Carmella DeCesare (April 2003), World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) RAW Diva Search 2004Lisa Dergan (July 1998), spokesmodel for St. Pauli Girl and Guess? Jeans; also Fox Sports correspondentDonna D'Errico (September 1995), actressDaphnée Duplaix (July 1997), actressHope Dworaczyk (April 2009), television host and contestant on Celebrity ApprenticeJaime Faith Edmondson (January 2010), former police officer, Miami Dolphins cheerleader, and runner-up in The Amazing Race 14Erika Eleniak (July 1989), actressLindsey Gayle Evans (October 2009), Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2008Tiffany Fallon (December 2004), Miss Georgia USA 2001, model, actress and Celebrity Apprentice contestant.Victoria Fuller (January 1996), contestant on The Amazing Race 6Lauren Michelle Hill (February 2001), winner of the Playmates edition of Fear Factor, Guess? modelClaudia Jennings (November 1969), actressScarlett Keegan (September 2004), former child model, international print model, actress – minor roles include: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, HBO's Entourage, and Weezer's " Beverly Hills" music video.Connie Kreski (January 1968), actressPilar Lastra (August 2004), briefcase model on Deal or No DealAngela Little (August 1998), actressJayne Mansfield (February 1955), singer and actressShae Marks (May 1994), actressJenny McCarthy (October 1993), actress, author, comedian; MTV's Singled OutJulie McCullough (February 1986), actress – played nanny "Julie Costello" on several episodes of Growing Pains until she was fired for having posed nude in Playboy.Karen McDougal (December 1997), fitness model; appeared in XFL cheerleader commercials in 2000Shanna Moakler (December 2001), Miss USA 1995, ex-wife of Travis Barker, and co-star of reality TV show Meet the BarkersKara Monaco (June 2006), Big Brother 14 contestantKelly Marie Monaco (April 1997), Emmy-nominated actress, winner of Dancing with the Stars reality show in 2005 long running actress of General HospitalCynthia Myers (December 1968), actressBettie Page (January 1955), noted pin-up and bondage modelJanice Pennington (May 1971), model on The Price Is RightBrande Roderick (April 2000), actress and Celebrity Apprentice contestantNikki Schieler (September 1997), actressAnna Nicole Smith (May 1992), Guess? jeans model, actress, and widow of an octogenarian businessman. The lawsuit over his inheritance reached the US Supreme Court.Victoria Silvstedt (December 1996), Swedish supermodel, actress, radio and TV hostess, published singer, and a former national-level skier in SwedenMartha Smith (July 1973), actressStella Stevens (January 1960), actressDorothy Stratten (August 1979), actress whose life and murder were portrayed in Star 80 (1983) and in Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981)Jeana Tomasino ("Jeana Keough") (November 1980), actress, model, original cast member of The Real Housewives of Orange County, and client on Thintervention with Jackie WarnerShannon Tweed (November 1981), actress co-star of reality-TV show Gene Simmons Family JewelsRoberta Vasquez (November 1984), actressPetra Verkaik (December 1989), actressJennifer Walcott (August 2001), actressEugena Washington (December 2015), fashion model, America's Next Top Model (cycle 7) contestantTamara Witmer (August 2005), briefcase model on Deal or No Deal, contestant on VH1's Rock of Love with Bret MichaelsTeri Weigel (April 1986), adult movie performerCara Zavaleta (November 2004), appeared on MTV reality show Road Rules prior to Playmate appearanceVictoria Zdrok (October 1994), attorney, clinical psychologist, sex therapist; second model to appear as centerfold for both Playboy and Penthouse
