Ask Miki: College student wants to be in Playboy
Dear Miki: You’re my father’s favorite Playboy Playmate! Would you please tell me how I can apply to become a Playmate, too? I’ve wanted to be a centerfold ever since I was a little girl. Currently, I’m a junior in college and it’s getting harder and harder to come up with tuition and extra money for clothes and my passion — shoes. My parents help as much as possible, and I have a part-time job but think I’ll be laid off soon. Now would be the perfect time for me to take a break from school and collect the $25,000 Playmate fee. A male friend of mine majors in photography, and he thinks I would make a perfect Playmate. I’ve seen his work and it’s awesome! The problem is my boyfriend is a bit jealous and says he wants to take the nude photos. On one hand, I know I would be more comfortable with him, but on the other, I want the pictures to look professional. What do you suggest? ~ Girl Next Door
Dear Girl Next Door: When I was director of Playmate Promotions for Playboy Enterprises, Inc., I had a very multi-layered job description. On call 24/7 to Playmates, Hugh Hefner and staff, and Playmate Promotion sponsors, it was intense I can assure you. I also worked closely with Playboy’s legal and security departments to protect the Playmates. When not negotiating promotional appearance contracts and teaching Playmates how to survive media interviews, I was Mother Confessor and advisor to some of the world’s most beautiful women all queued in month and year. More gorgeous women than you’ll ever know relied on promotional and modeling fees to pay the rent because they were young and without job skills. Scads of photos crossed my desk sent from boyfriends, photographers, etc. smacking their lips over the $5,000 finder’s fee if the model became a Playmate. And then there were the risqué photos shopped to see if Playboy would pay to keep a girl-next-door’s image. During my tenure, I conducted several nationwide searches for candidates and never among the hopeful flocks did I need more than a bikini snapshot to decide if I would schedule a nude photo shoot with a Playboy photographer. I recognize the Playboy Web site tells applicants to e-mail or mail “only recent nude photographs of themselves. The photographs can be digital or prints, Polaroids or transparencies and show a variety of poses, including full figure and face shots.” However, I can say from experience that my wearing a one-piece swimsuit was all Playboy West Coast Editor of Photography, judging the 1972 Miss California World Pageant I was competing in, needed to make me an offer to be Miss January 1973. I was flown to LA for a private photo session with a renowned Playboy photographer. Of course, Hugh Hefner makes the final decision. Many students don’t go back to college after becoming a Playmate. My advice to you is to find another job and finish college in last season’s clothes and shoes. After graduation, you will be in a better position to evaluate whether you want to audition to be a Playmate or not. If you do, submit a bikini photo taken by a trusted friend using your camera. Playboy’s model release and contract should be read closely with the understanding that a model is selling more than her likeness, name and biography. It is wise to have an entertainment/intellectual property attorney explain each clause that lives on and on. Tell your father he has excellent taste. Miki Garcia can be reached at askmikigarcia@yahoo.com.
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Sounds like an amazing world! SM
Response to SM:
Playboy is a seductive and mysterious world with rules not to be broken. I broke many…
From my cursor to yous,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
I love your new column!
With your insightful and quirky writing and Mike Brown's
cartooning, it makes a great team.
Tish Rankin
Response to Tish Rankin:
You should hear some of our discussions. Thanks, for your email.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Dear Miki: You are also my favorite Playmate (and the only one I met), and next comes Sharon Rogers (64), Anulka Diziubinska (73), Dede Lind (67), and Sylvie Garant (79).
Carlos
Thanks, Carlos. I have never met Miss May 1973 Anulka Dziubinska nor Miss January 1964 Sharon Rogers. However, I know Miss August 1967 DeDe Lind. As Director of Playmate Promotions, I once took Miss November 1979 Sylvie Garant to England for a Playmate Promotional event. Sylvie is delightful and recently attended autograph signing events in Chicago and LA. Her fans were elated! I do not attend autograph signing events, but I am in touch with many of the Playmates.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to asmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Miki,
Given what you probably could have said, your comment was most dignified and restrained and not libelous.
"Vanna"
Response to "Vanna":
Your astuteness is commendable.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
good one...
C. C.
Response to C. C.:
Thanks for thinking so.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
.....I love the "and tell your father he has excellent taste"....... you go girl
Z
Response to Z:
I'm big in the "father" circle these days and appreciate it very much.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
GOOD ADVICE MIKI!!
IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE AN EDUCATED FUTURE IF AND WHEN THE "PLAYBOY" THING COMES TO AN END.
AS ALWAYS GREAT INFO.
BEST REGARDS,
BILL
Response to Bill:
Playmates who are dependable, responsible and personable often work through the Playmate Promotions dept. for several years. However, when a woman signs on to be a Playmate it is forever, and sometimes that affects her job prospects and relationships.
Thanks, Bill, for taking your time to read the column and email. You're a dear friend!
L,
M
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
About college girl and what pictures of her naked would do to her future, I don't think she would get any votes as nude president, and so on.
"Jack"
Response to "Jack":
Sadly, it remains to be seen if a clothed woman will ever garner enough votes to be president in my lifetime.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
As Miki can attest, being a Playmate is a double-edged sword. It can open new doors, but it closes some too. If you ever were to run for public office, or marry a man who did, those pictures decide., which now live forever on the Internet, can haunt you. Think long and hard, and good luck whatever you decide.
S. R.
Response to S. R.:
Ironically, politicians are frequently caught with their pants down.
The Internet has broadened risks for women posing for Playboy. Playmate photos are often obtained without permission and sold on Ebay, and they are habitually used illegally to promote porn sites.
Thanks for your comment.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Dear Miki: I think your advice is right on. It is no more than basic common sense and yet we all seem to ignore that advice. When I was 18 I wanted to be a rock star so I quit college and spent the next six years stuck playing locally with no real shot at anything. I returned to college, got my degree but started out six years later than if I would have finished college first. Being a playmate is a very exclusive thing and I would believe very difficult to achieve. Her applying to be a playmate would be akin to trying to win the lotto so maybe she could just buy a ticket.
"Dave"
Response to "Dave":
Well she would certainly make more money if she won the Lotto!
Thanks for your comment.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com from S. R.:
Good point! Years ago, centerfolds continued as back-issues or in occasional "reviews." Today, with modern technology, they are everywhere all at once and, as I wrote, they live on forever.
S. R.
Response to S. R.:
Playboy Web site sells jpegs...
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com from "Dave":
I hope you didn't think I was making light of being a playmate and we all know that money isn't everything. I understand that being a playmate is a very special achievement to all of those who are in the club and that it is very much like a sorority and the experience itself is worth all the money in the world. However, if you are doing it only for the money then buy the lotto ticket. Thanks for your time Miki. I always enjoy chatting with you.
"Dave"
Response to "Dave":
The Playmate experience is not "worth all the money in the world," but you're right, Playmates belong to an exclusive sorority, and that in itself has worth.
Thanks for your email.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com from S. R.:
I think the point in all this is that it is a life-changing decision, and that the young student should look upon this as more than a way to pay the rent for a few months, and make a few car payments. This is a major business and personal decision.
S. R.
Response to S. R.:
No hole in your mitt.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com from Miss June 1979 Louann Fernald:
One cannot deliberately decide to become a Playmate, unless you are willing to do whatever it takes, i.e. plastic surgery, sleep with Hef... and even then, you join the ranks of many other women who are doing everything it takes and still never become Playmates.
I would never advise my daughter to seek 'Playmate-dom' and I presume you are about the same age as her (she's 19).
Plan B is....if everyone you know, including strangers on the street, and your boyfriend, are telling you, you could be a Playmate, then have someone take some tasteful pictures of you in the nude, using the photos in the magazine as examples of the look you want to achieve, mail them to Playboy Enterprises, cross your fingers and hope for the best. And, if you have the right look at the right time (You look like a Miss December and they need Miss December), you're in!
Cont.
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com from Miss June 1979 Louann Fernald:
Cont.
Keep in mind that there are many many gorgeous women trying to get into Playboy. There are only 12 Playmates per year, so not everyone makes it. If you don't, don't take it personally. When I posed back in 1978, around 6,000 women sent their photos in each month seeking to become a Playmate. The number may be higher now. Whether or not you become a Playmate, know that you are the most beautiful YOU there is in the world, and that those people who are important in your life will not need the validation of Playboy to know that. They will love you for you.
So just focus on being the best YOU you can be. Exercise, eat healthy, and treat yourself like the treasure you truly are. And always remember, true beauty comes FROM WITHIN.
Best Wishes Always,
Louann Fernald, June '79 PMOM
Response to Louann Fernald, Miss June 1979:
You were always one of my favorite Playmates to book on promotions. You were smart, beautiful, and I knew the promotion sponsor wouldn't demand the modeling fee back!
Now you're a smart, beautiful attorney, and I couldn't be more proud of you, Louann!
As for age, the Playmate Data Sheet snitches on all of us.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Dear Miki,
Another entertaining and informative column. So, it's 25K now. It was only 10K when I thought about it. However the closest I would ever get was almost a Bunny at a local club. Jealous boyfriends will screw up anything ha ha. however I practiced the Bunny Dip and when I was still working as a waitress or cocktailing, it would make an excellent "ice breaker" with customers who recognized it. Your advice was great. Besides if boyfriend did not want someone else taking pictures now, what was she going to do if she was asked to try out? Anyhow I thought your column photo was very striking and eerily familiar, probably came across your Playmate issue while babysitting way back when issues were "collector's items". Keep up the awesome work, You are definately a treasure of "worldly" advice and experience. Merry Christmas!
Sharon Canada
Response to Sharon Canada:
Hi Sharon!
The modeling fee was only 5K when I became a Playmate! Considering each Playmate makes millions of dollars in perpetuity for Playboy, I'd like Hef to Fed Ex bonus checks to all the gals.
How clever to use the "Bunny Dip" -- probably got you better tips.
You're right about the jealous boyfriend. Boyfriends are, with rare exception, left behind when women are bestowed a month and a year. There's simply no room for them in the Playboy family.
What a kick I got reading that you probably came across my Playmate issue while babysitting. (Young girls are just as curious as boys about centerfolds.) And I certainly appreciate your saying I'm "a treasure of "worldly" advice and experience." I lived it; I own it; I share it.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com from Miss December 1982 Charlotte Kemp:
Well you said it all, as a Playboy Playmate too, I see no reason to have a Pro take your pics. A few pics in a swimsuit roundabout should let them know if you are Playmate material. Some nice face and head shots will do nicely with the bikini shots.
Charlotte Kemp
Miss December 1982
Response to Miss December 1982 Charlotte Kemp:
It's an old story about photographers owning photo rights and selling pics of famous women. Vanessa Williams, the first African-American Miss America, was forced to resign her 1984 title after nude photos (snapped by a "Pro") were splashed all over Penthouse magazine. More recently, who can forget former 2009 Miss California USA Carrie Prejean's stumbling and bumbling over semi-nude photos and an X-rated video? The pageant demanding reimbursement for the $5,200 breast implants make many giggle, but Playboy is smarter than that. Plastic surgery costs are deducted from Playmates' modeling fees.
Thanks, Char, for sending your comment. You're a good friend. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to you, Sandy and Braham.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Miki, how can we second guess you're advice that you gave Girl Next Door?
"Lionel"
Response to "Lionel":
You can't without experience and credentials.
Thanks, "Lionel, for reading the column and making a comment.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Great advice Miki.
I have always preferred my age group of playmates, you are and were a favorite of mine.
Have a great Christmas.
M. W.
Response to M. W.:
Thanks! You take the time to comment on my column, and I appreciate it. As for your taste, it's superb.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Perhaps seeing you in 2010 in Paris?
"Pierre"
Response to "Pierre":
Perhaps...keep the lights on.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
I love your column Miki. Go Girl.
JOY & BILL
Response to Joy and Bill:
I love writing it! Thanks for reading.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
I concur that GND's father has excellent taste.
"Robbie"
Response to "Robbie":
And so do you, my friend. Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
G'day from down under once more Miki and friends.
Teenage girls see the whole world thru rose coloured glasses. To imagine Playboy giving her $25k for a "simple" photo shoot and then letting her disappear into the sunset is fanciful at best!
Get a real job teeny bopper and let guys pore all over your nude photos at a time when you're older and it's more appropriate (if it ever is!!!)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Miki.....
"Samuel"
Response to "Samuel":
Girl Next Door" wrote she's a junior in college. Don't know how old she is but young enough to have parents helping her financially.
Playboy does let some Playmates disappear into the sunset - usually when they become an embarrassment.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Thanks for your comment.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Great question for you to answer since you have first had knowledge. I cannot quarrel with this person's ambition but I imagine that many girls wish, few get auditions and ever fewer make it to the pages. 12 a year is tough competition!
Good luck.
A. O.
Response to A. O.:
The competition to become a Playboy centerfold is so strong that women do anything to attain Playmate status. Of the very, very, very few holding their ground and underwear, Hef might still make them a Playmate hoping to convince eager participation in the tougher competition for Playmate of the Year.
Merry Christmas, friend.
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
Love the advice for this young girl, seems she does not know anything about the business...only seeing the money. The smartest thing she did was ask your advice...hopefully the second smart thing is listen to it!
Reading your columns always puts a smile on my face.
Renee Crane
Response to Renee Crane:
You sound very smart yourself!
From my cursor to yours,
Miki
Comment emailed to askmikigarcia@yahoo.com:
I am glad you encouraged that young college student to finish college. And you can bet that boyfriend is already getting ready to help her spend any earned money on a red convertable or a Harley should she go ahead with photo's and get accepted. And as far as jealous! Give me a break! He just wants to be sure she does not sign any documents that exclude him from any earnings she may generate off her beauty/body. Which he considers his, but will share, with the world, for a price.
KMc
Response to KMc:
Next week's column has been submitted, but I will address your comment the following week.
Thanks for reading into the column...
From my cursor to yours,
Miki