Carmella Decesare Nude
It seems Carmella DeCesare, a fresh-faced 20-year-old from Westlake, Ohio, took her share of knocks in high school. “I was the girl everybody liked to tease,” she confesses. “I wanted to be friends with everyone and have a good time, but it just didn’t work out that way. I had three good girlfriends in high school and they stuck by me. Kids at that age are horrible and look for someone to pick on, and I guess I was it. I hadn’t grown up yet — I had big red-frame glasses and no style. My mom and my stepdad always told me, ‘Those boys who make fun of you are going to want to date you later.’ I never believed them, but now it’s my time to shine.” Her first triumph over her tormentors came when she beat out thousands of hopefuls to become one of the 12 chosen for Fox’ Girl Next Door: The Search for a Playboy Centerfold. Unfortunately, she was one of the two girls who dropped out of the show early. “When I went to California, I was excited and had a different vision,” says Carmella. “I thought I would meet all these girls and we would hang out and have fun. Everybody was cutthroat and really wanted to win — it wasn’t the friendliest contest. It freaked me out. I decided to leave because it wasn’t for me.” But Hef wouldn’t let Carmella just disappear. “He asked me if I wanted to rethink my position,” she says. “Hef invited me to a Mansion party and I had a blast with him and the girls. He asked me to do a test shoot in Chicago, and I accepted. I became February’s Cyber Girl of the Month on Cyber.Playboy.com.”
Photography by Arny Freytag and Stephen Wayda