Centerfold.com : Playboy Playmates Directory : PMOY 1990-1999

• PMOY 1990-1999 •

PMOY 1999 : Heather Kozar

Heather Sent

miss january spreads her wings

At 21, Heather Kozar, a self-described "spontaneous, silly and sophisticated" Ohio native, is ready for anything -- from modeling to acting to rebelling against her strict upbringing. We met the down-to-earth angel in Chicago for a candid tete-a-tete.

Q: Is posing nude as easy as you make it look?

A: Sometimes I get a little cold. And it's nerve-racking. There's so much to think about -- how to move, how to turn, what face to make. You practice in front of a mirror, but looking natural for the camera is harder. Fortunately, I worked with a great photographer who made me feel comfortable.

Q: Your mom is a born-again Christian. Will she flip when she sees these photos?

A: When I was little, my mom tried to instill strict morals and values in me -- that I should keep myself covered and that showing affection in public, even holding hands, was dirty. So, yes, she might flip, but she loves me unconditionally. It's not like I woke up one morning thinking, You know what? I'm going to disappoint my mother today. Nudity is art. It's an honor to be chosen out of thousands of women to pose for Playboy. If I hadn't done this, I'd be kicking myself ten years from now.

Q: We'd be kicking ourselves, too. So, what will you be doing in ten years?

A: Who knows? I live day to day. Every morning I wake up and thank God for giving me a bonus day. My dad died three years ago, and it taught me to appreciate life. You never know when it's going to end. As for my career, I'd like to try TV and movies, especially comedy and action.

Q: You'd make a great Baywatch babe.

A: [Laughs] Thanks. I'm willing to try everything once. I love the sun, so I think I could handle the lifeguard thing.

Q: When men stare at your chest, how do you redirect their attention?

A: I'm humble. I don't strut my stuff. If someone is gawking at my chest, I try to get away from him as quickly as possible. I don't want to upset him, because he might think I'm a jerk.

Q: You dreaded high school. Why?

A: The kids were mean -- I didn't feel like I had close friends. You respect what your peers have to say, so when they make fun of you it hurts. But I made it. I'm happier now than I've ever been.

Q: You showed them. Have you encountered any fair-weather friends lately?

A: Two guys who were rude to me in high school approached me recently and said, "You're so cool! We're so proud of you!" I was like, "What was I before, a schmuck?"

Q: You've been traveling a lot. Where would you like to go next?

A: Somewhere secluded, like the Caribbean, where I can walk around naked all day. That's how I lie out in the backyard.

Q: Has the mailman ever been caught peeking?

A: No! [Laughs] I live with my boyfriend and we have a security system and a big fence, so no one can see in. The mailman will just have to buy the magazine!

Photography by Richard Fegley

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1999 : all playmates

PMOY 1998 : Karen McDougal

Winter Wonder

playmate karen mcdougal wants to take the chill out of the season

As a small-town girl in Sawyer, Michigan, Karen McDougal was a tomboy until a late-teens growth spurt turned her into a beauty queen. Now the 26-year-old preschool teacher doubles as a Venus International Swimwear model. Karen's latest moonlighting gig is even more dazzling: Sawyer's pride is now our Miss December.

Q: How have folks back home reacted to the news that you're Playboy's latest Playmate?

A: With shock. I was always wholesome little Karen. In high school my nickname was Barbie, as in Barbie doll -- the nice, sweet, perfect girl. That sort of girl isn't expected to be seen in the most-looked-at men's magazine in the world. But I think it's going to work out. Now that people are getting used to the idea, they're treating me like a celebrity.

Q: What are the rewards of spending your days with people half your size?

A: I teach preschool because I love kids. I want to have a few children of my own one of these days. My mother has 12 brothers and sisters, each with at least six kids of their own. I have almost 100 cousins. If I can find the right man, I want to start adding to the family total. I'm a nurturer.

Q: One with sensational biceps. Do you bench-press toddlers at work?

A: No, but I do work out every day. I think strength is important to a woman. It's energizing. It gives you the self-confidence you need to succeed.

Q: What's your personal best as a weight lifter?

A: I don't go for bulk. My best in the squat is 140 pounds.

Q: Do the youngsters where you work know you are also a swimwear model and a Playmate?

A: No. To them I'm just Miss Karen.

Q: Your wholesome look is also a little exotic. What is your heritage?

A: Irish and Native American. I suppose I got my cheekbones from my Cherokee grandfather; the Irish side of the family must be responsible for my pert little nose.

Q: Can a woman be both wholesome and sexy?

A: Definitely. A woman can be whatever she wants to be. It's all in her attitude. I am truly a sweet, down-to-earth girl, soft and mild. But I can be crazy if the time is right.

Q: How does it feel to be Sawyer's premiere sex symbol?

A: I'm excited. Do you know I'm one of the oldest Playmates this year? I take care of my body. I'm proud to show it off. I hope you'll look at me and say, "Hey, that's not bad for 26 years old."

Q: What do you see yourself accomplishing in the next ten years?

A: By 2007 I hope I'll be running my own learning center for preschoolers. I would like to have at least three kids of my own. And I'd like to be as spunky at 36 as I am today.

Photography by Richard Fegley

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1998 : all playmates

PMOY 1997 : victoria silvstedt

This scandinavian beauty made sure her cinderella story came true
"The world thinks everyone in Sweden is tall and blonde," says Victoria Silvstedt, who is grandly both. At six feet plus in high heels, Miss Sweden 1993 is blondeness perfected, the tallest and fairest of all. Growing up in the village of Bollnas near the Arctic Circle, Victoria had two goals: "I wanted to live in Paris and to be in the American Playboy," she says. Miss December accomplished both goals this year. At 22, she has an apartment near the Arc de Triomphe. "I adore Paris. Frenchmen love to date models, so a girl can always have dinner for free. Of course, some guys think that means they can take you to bed," she says. "But it's not always so." Victoria models all over Europe and occasionally in Asia, where she is seen as the ultimate blonde, the one to call when your product's sales need a boost. Impulse buyers love her. But Victoria says, "I was doing well but wasn't where I wanted to be" -- meaning she wasn't well known in her favorite country. "The whole world watches America. Even if we have to wait a year, we see all the American movies and wear all the American clothes. Even before I got to Paris I knew I wanted to make it in America." This month the village girl whose teen rivals derided her ambitions officially becomes victorious.

"I want to make my boyfriend proud and my enemies jealous," Victoria says. What better reasons to be a Playmate? Her Parisian boyfriend knew nothing of her plans. "I just told him I had a job to do," she says. "Then he called the number I left him. They answered, 'Hello, Playboy Mansion,' and he said, 'Aha!' He was mad. But I think he'll like the pictures." As a world traveler, she gets weary of being away from her mate. "Too much telephone sex. I'm always seeing cute guys when I'm on my own -- it's frustrating! But who knows what might happen? I'm not married yet, am I?" she asks, smiling. Life wasn't always so full of good opportunities. In tiny Bollnas, "most girls get jobs or go away to the university. A few go to Stockholm, but most stay in the village." Victoria entered the Miss Sweden pageant, which she won. Next came modeling jobs worldwide, and one day this blonde tower of Scandinavian design appeared at our Los Angeles offices. She said that she was ready to be a Playmate. We considered it for about one second before saying Ja.
 Ralph Marino
Photography by Arny Freytag

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1997 : all playmates

PMOY 1996 : Stacy Sanches

THE HEART OF TEXAS

miss march just keeps on truckin'

To hear Stacy Sanches talk is to hear pure Texas issuing from the mouth of a babe. Born in Dallas, Stacy relishes her place in the most devotedly nuclear of families, with Mom and Dad sticking together through 32 years of marriage and the whole gang (including a brother and sister) spending time in the family business. She describes the arrangement as "awesome," but it sounds more like a throwback to a simpler time, when families hung together at home and on the range.

For all of that, Stacy's not exactly your middle-of-nowhere country girl. But she's not your typical big-haired Dallas strutter, either. She is an outer-borough type from a burb north of town, and she's her daddy's girl. At least when he's around. "My daddy works his ass off," Stacy says, showing pride first, then a mischievous smirk. "But he was gone a lot. And sometimes my mom, my sister and I would sneak off to La Bare -- one of those strip places that feature men. I was only 14, but they'd let you in with a parent. I don't think my daddy knows about that to this day."

Her confession might be bad news, because her dad is now her boss. After a year-and-a-half stint at Hooters, Stacy started working for her father's custom-pickup-truck business. "I like working for my dad -- I can do whatever I want, work when I want and I have weekends off." That gives her plenty of freedom for lifting weights, her favorite daytime activity. "When I first started, I hated it," she says, "until I started seeing some muscles pop out." Now she's hooked on making things pop out. And that's an addiction we can admire. Stacy works out with her personal weight trainer, Kelly, one day a week. "She's not a complainer," he says, "but she's good at stalling. When I say it's time for another set, she'll give it one of these looks" -- he rolls his eyes and pouts. But he doesn't let her get away with it. He puts his face down to hers and barks orders. "One day I was dying," says Stacy, "and he made keep doing it. I almost started crying. I can't say no to him."

-- Jeff Posey

Photography by Arny Freytag

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1996 : all playmates

PMOY 1995 : Julie Lynn Cialini

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1995 : all playmates

PMOY 1994 : Jenny McCarthy

Miss october's our favorite to win, place and show
"I don't like betting the favorite - there's no money there," says Jenny McCarthy, scanning the tout sheet like a railbird. "You may as well make it a challenge." There is one thing you must know right away about Miss October: The 20-year-old Chicago girl is "definitely the kind of person who likes to take a risk." Calling to set up our interview, I offered lunch; Jenny countered with skydiving, her latest love. "It's incredible, the scariest 30 seconds of your life," she said, ignoring the cowardly gulps coming over the phone. We settled on a day at the races, where only our bank accounts were in danger. Jenny has been going to the track since she was ten. "It's fun to gamble, and I usually do pretty well," she says. No kidding -- in the third race she picked the winner and the runner-up. The luck of the Irish is definitely going Jenny McCarthy's way. Early this year she decided to try her hand at modeling, and sent some photos to a Chicago agency. One week later she had an interview at Playboy. Two weeks later she was shooting her centerfold. "This is my first modeling job -- can you believe it?" she asks, shaking her head. "It's been boom, boom, boom."
When it comes to family, Jenny calls herself "one of the luckiest people in the world. My mom and dad brought us up in such a healthy way." The second of four sisters, she grew up in "a very Catholic neighborhood" on Chicago's South Side. "My dad worked three jobs to put us through Catholic school," she says. He also needed the money to keep Jenny in food. As a wee slip of a lass, her prodigious appetite earned her the nickname Truck Driver. She burned off the calories playing "every single sport there is." She was also head cheerleader. And if that weren't enough, for years she has worked at a neighborhood grocery store that carries Playboy. Jenny says: "Guys were always telling me, 'You should be on the cover of Playboy, not behind the cash register.' I'd be like, 'Yeah, right, that'll be the day.'" Not that she couldn't picture it. "When I was in seventh grade, I stood on the Oak Street beach and looked up on the sign on the Playboy building and thought, 'God, someday I'd love to be there.' And now here I am."
If poetic justice prevailed at the track, a horse named Gents Delight would have won the sixth race, and Jenny would have walked away with a pocketful of cash. Alas, Miss October's horse came in a distant third. "Doesn't that stink?" she says. It's not the money Jenny's worried about, though. "I am the least materialistic person you'll ever meet," she says. "All I really need is a home, enough money to get by and a good Beaver Cleaver family, like my family." She'll use her Playmate earnings to return to college, where she's put in two years toward a nursing degree. She also wants to pursue an acting career. "I could see myself as Sharon Stone in 'Basic Instinct,' playing a psychopath with an ice pick. Why not? It's nothing like the kind of person I am, but I would want to do it for the challenge." She laughs. "I have so many goals, and I want to try to reach them all." If anyone can, it's Jenny McCarthy. Bet on it.

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1994 : all playmates

PMOY 1993 : Anna Nicole Smith

As earthy and wide open as the North Texas spaces Vickie Smith hails from (she grew up in Mexia -- pronounced Ma-HEY-YA -- pop. 6933), she tells the truth no matter how uncool it may sound. Her biggest fear, for instance: "Water! I feel foolish admitting this, but it scares me when there's any more of it than you can fit into a bathtub." She doesn't like showers, either -- maybe because Vickie, who devours horror films like so much buttered popcorn, has seen "Psycho" one time too many. Two things she's not crazy about, she volunteers, revealing her old-fashioned sensibilities, are men who do drugs and men with long hair. She saw a lot of both on the streets of Los Angeles during her recent visit there. Otherwise, the California trip, taken at Playboy's behest, was, in a word, "fantastic! I stayed at Playboy Mansion West, which was incredible. Tony Curtis was visiting the Hefners one evening" she recalls, sitting cross-legged on the black leather sofa in her Houston apartment, "and he sketched a little picture for me." Grabbing a black leather datebook from a black lacquered coffee table ("Black is my favorite color"), she proudly shows off Curtis' autographed sketch, a whimsical pen-and-ink drawing of a cat atop a piano, eyeing a goldfish whose days seem numbered in seconds. As Vickie recounts her L.A. trip -- her first foray outside Texas in her 24-year-old life -- we are sitting in the tidy studio apartment she has shared for the past five years with her six-year-old pixie-faced son Daniel. Living-room and stairwell walls are adorned with some 20 framed photographs of Vickie's idol, Marilyn Monroe.
Another woman that she greatly admires is Christie Brinkley. "Not only is she incredibly beautiful but she is where I would like to be." The trip to L.A. having whetted her wanderlust, she's itching to escape "to Paris for the fashions and to the Cayman Islands for the sun. Actually, I'm eager to go anywhere that isn't Texas!" Being chosen as a Playmate, says Vickie, is "a dream come true, and it makes me feel that my other dreams are possible, too." Like what? "Oh, like breaking into movies or appearing in an MTV video." She would also like to do some video modeling to upgrade her far-from-steady income doing newspaper ads and promo work for Houston businesses -- including an upcoming stint for Costa Spa, the health club she frequents to keep her astounding figure in fighting trim.
"The people in Mexia won't believe it when these pictures of me hit the newsstands," she predicts, "because I was considered a goody-two-shoes nerd back in high school." When pressed, Vickie concedes that her naturally pretty face may have made the other girls jealous. As for the boys, they had to feel overwhelmed by her then-gawky 5'11" frame, unbalanced by the ample bust she developed much later.
Shortly after that pleasing anatomical development occurred, Vickie married her high school sweetheart. A year later, they had a baby, and while the marriage didn't last, her love affair with her son continues unabated.
"My mother was a career cop and she was pretty tough on me," Vickie admits, "so I've leaned in the other direction, almost never saying no to Daniel and spoiling him a lot. Still, he doesn't take too much advantage of me."
Other people, she says, sometimes have. "I'm such a soft touch and so trusting that people-not just men-tend to use me." That worries some people, notably David, the brother to whom she's closest. "He's always been my protector and now he's an FBI agent!" She considered getting a watchdog but figures her cat, Booger, her cockatoo, Gizmo, and her Vietnamese potbellied pig, a female inexplicably named Madison, are about all the wildlife she can handle in addition to her rambunctious little boy.
It's an unusually cold day for Texas, but the sunshine blasting through the windows is too compelling to resist, especially after weeks of rain that have turned this area of Houston into a bog.
"Let's go roller-blading," Vickie suggests. "I'm a good skater, but this is supposed to be a lot harder," she warns. Pulling off her black cowboy boots, she straps on brand-new Flash Gordonesque blue-and-white blades. In tight blue jeans and a denim jacket, she's ready to brave the cold and the concrete.
At first, this long, tall Texan is as wobbly as a newborn colt. Twenty feet from her doorstep, her feet fly out from under her and Vickie's trimly upholstered behind hits the pavement with a resounding whump! But seconds later, grinning, she pulls herself up by her skate straps and glides gracefully down the street and right onto a broad boulevard, blonde ponytail billowing behind her. Traffic slows down noticeably as a succession of rubbernecking good old boys hoot and holler at the sight of this Amazonian urban cowgirl whizzing past like a fantasy on fast forward. Clearly, this girl is on a roll.

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1993 : all playmates

PMOY 1992 : Corinna Harney

VEGAS WINNER

meet corinna harney, the biggest surprise in town

Strolling the Strip in her glitzed-out home town, Corinna Harney looks positively tame. A jaunty chapeau atop her gold tresses, a low-cut black blouse under a fish-net sweater that matches her candy-pink lipstick -- well, the look is practically prosaic next to the checkered polyesters and wild midnight styles of other Las Vegas Strip walkers. The same can't be said for Corinna herself. She is as surprising as the cactus flowers that sprang from the Nevada desert the week we met her. She's a poet in a town full of dice players, a Vegas lover who has never gambled, a blonde whose hair should have been either black or red (her heritage is Cherokee-Irish, on both sides of the family). In a desert of neon, Corinna is a placid oasis. "I was never quite in sync with society," she says. Growing up in Nevada teaches a girl to make her own way. One way was poetry. When words failed her, she just goofed off: Too young to hang out in the casinos, Corinna and her school pals used to hit the Strip and act silly. "It was great. Everything was open late. We'd watch the people, pretending we were tourists." Sometimes, they were tourist terrorists, using squirt guns or waters balloons to startle out-of-towners. The cops put a stop to that; Vegas caters to visitors and expects young locals to find their own fun until they turn 21. On weekends, the kids trucked to the desert. Garage bands plugged in portable generators and bounced thrash rock off the night sky; Corinna and friends danced. They also watched shooting stars. "In the desert, you'll see four or five in a few hours," she says. "I'd make a wish on every one." One of her wishes, way back then, was to be a Playmate of the Month. "And now I am," says Miss August. "Maybe shooting stars do work."

Don't think Corinna misses out on physical pleasures. Like many a Nevadan, she has jet-skied nude on Lake Mead. And on of her love poems reads as follows: "Flowing through your arms, drinking from your streams/Fantasizing you as a mountain of pleasure/Seeing your skin, I feel the need to find your treasures./ If you can't tell, the fairy tale is true./Lying side by side, this adventureland for me and you."

Photography by Richard Fegley

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1992 : all playmates

PMOY 1991 : Lisa Matthews

ANIMAL PAL

what becomes a legend most? miss april's pet chinchilla

Lisa Matthews has a perfectly normal bedroom in the perfectly normal house she shares with her parents, her sister and her brother. The peach-and-green walls are hung with posters by Van Gogh and Matisse (not surprising choices, since Lisa hopes eventually to teach art history, at either high school or college level). Her skis stand in the corner near her favorite piece of furniture -- her grandmother's cedar chest. It's a room like any other, with one small exception -- an exception named Chester. As roommates go, Chester is ideal. He's quiet, clean and friendly. When he and Lisa are alone in their room, Chester's idea of a great time is to eat raisins out of Lisa's mouth. Chester is a chinchilla. Lisa is the first to admit that a chinchilla is not a run-of-the-mill pet. But, as an animal lover, she already owned the usual animals -- a dog and two cats -- and when her boyfriend wanted to give her another pet two years ago, Lisa chose Chester. It's true that no one else in her suburban Los Angeles neighborhood has a pet chinchilla, but Lisa is used to being a little different. Her father was a corporate nomad, and the Matthews family was uprooted numerous times, from Peoria to Ohio to Chicago to Georgia to Ohio again, to L.A., to Florida and then back to L.A., just in time for Lisa to finish high school. Finally settled in one place, she began to blossom, making friends and finding success as a model at the age of 17. Now 20, she's a student at a local junior college,thinking about her future. However her plans work out, there's one thing she knows -- Chester will be with her. "A chinchilla is a big rodent," explains Lisa helpfully. "He has the body of a rabbit and the tail of a squirrel. He has mouse ears and kangaroo legs, and then big back feet and little front feet. He's really cute. I talk to him." The few people we've heard of who owned chinchillas had a lot of them and turned them into coats. Lisa's brown eyes blaze when she's asked if Chester will end up in the garmet industry with his relatives. "No!" she shouts. I do not like fur coats!" "You're going to tell everyone that Chesters eats raisons out of my mouth, aren't you?" she asks. "I mean, that sounds kind of gross, doesn't it?" Nah, we tell her; everybody does it. "I could only love an animal lover, obviously," says Lisa. "I'd like to have a ranch, maybe in Colorado. I'm going to have horses and I'm going to have dogs. And I'll need plenty of room for Hank." Hank? "I really want a cow named Hank. Cows are my favorite animals, and I think Hank is a good name for a cow, even if it is a girl." What will Hank eat? Lisa eyes us sternly. "Not raisins," she says, beginning to smile, "and not out of my mouth."

Photography by Arny Freytag

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1991 : all playmates

PMOY 1990 : Renee Tenison

The Toast of Melba

playmate renee tenison is the best thing to come out of idaho since the spud

Last year had its bad news and good news for Renee Tenison. First came the downer: Just before she was to appear in the 1988 Miss Idaho USA beauty pageant, she broke out with "the worst acne I've ever had. Before I went on stage, I knew I wouldn't win." And she was right. She didn't. But then came the upper: Her boyfriend, bodybuilder Dale Parkinson, who was the 1983 Mr. Idaho, had sent photos of Renee to us for our 35th Anniversary Playmate Hunt, and the day after the Miss Idaho USA pageant, she received a call from Playboy inviting her to Chicago to pose for our centerfold. By the time she arrived, her skin was clear and Renee was, as you can see, in top form. Renee, who grew up in Melba, Idaho, is special for many reasons. First, she's a twin, and her sister Rosie is every bit as beautiful as Renee. And then Renee's parents' marriage is interracial -- one of the first such in the state of Idaho, which is not known for its black population. "My mom, who is white, and my dad, who is black, met each other in the Fifties, and they had to go to Nevada to get married, because no one would marry them in Idaho. When they came back to Melba [population approximately 300], they couldn't even go to the grocery together. I really admire them for staying together. There aren't many blacks in Idaho, maybe three thousand out of a population of more than a million." We wondered if Renee didn't sometimes feel isolated. "Well, I'd rather say I felt special. Being different was an advantage because it made me stand out, and I'd rather stand out than be a wallflower." Idaho, she says has come a long way since her parents were married. "In the last Presidential primary, I was a Jesse Jackson supporter, and I didn't think he had many fans in Idaho, so I was shocked when he did well in our Democratic primary. I think it was because he was speaking to workers, and people in Idaho are hard workers. Also, people here are very religious and they admired what Jackson was doing as a preacher." Since she was discovered by Playboy, Renee and her boyfriend have bought a house in Boise, where they intend to settle down after they get married. As for her future, Renee has two fantasies: to design clothes and to make a guest appearance on the television show A Different World. "Perhaps an episode in which the new girl on campus just happens to be a Playmate." Not a bad idea, Cos, if you're listening.

Photography by Arny Freytag

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1990 : all playmates

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• PMOY 1990-1999 •