10 Actors You Didn’t Know Got Their Start As Playmates

From the mansion to the big screen

Published 4 months ago in Wow

There are a whole lot of ways to make it in Hollywood. Have a stellar audition. Accidentally run into a famous casting director. Be a "Nepo Baby." Yet for these ladies, a certain men's magazine played a massive role in their rise to fame, helping them lay the groundwork for their now-legendary careers.

From Anna Nicole Smith to Carmen Electra, here are 10 actors you didn't know got their start as Playmates.

1
Jenny McCarthy
Though she may be famed for her comedy chops and bad takes on vaccines, Jenny McCarthy appeared in the men’s magazine in October 1993.

2
Denise Crosby
‘Star Trek’ actress Denise Crosby, stripped down for the magazine in 1979. Her stint in the publication, she said, stemmed from her famous family, including her grandfather, Bing Crosby, a move she described as “some kind of rebellion on my part, some way of saying screw you to the family image.”

3
Marilyn Monroe
Though Marilyn Monroe may have appeared on the cover of the magazine’s inaugural issue, she didn’t actually pose for Hugh Hefner or any of his photographers. The media mogul purchased photos from a steamy shoot the actress had taken several years prior, neither paying her for her modeling skills nor asking for her consent to publish the photos.
4
Anna Nicole Smith
Before she served as a founding mother of reality TV and asked audiences if they “like [her] body?” Anna Nicole Smith started out as a model for the magazine in May 1992.

5
Sharon Stone
In 1990, Sharon Stone flexed her muscles for the men’s outlet around the release of “Total Recall.”
6
Bijou Phillips
Shortly after appearing in “Almost Famous,” the actress lent her modeling skills to the magazine, gracing the cover of the April 2000 issue.
7
Brigitte Nielsen
The ‘Rocky’ star is no stranger to the magazine, nabbing a cover in December 1987.

8
Jayne Mansfield
The old Hollywood icon helped put the magazine on the map, appearing alongside Bettie Page and Anita Ekberg in early issues throughout the 1950s.
9
Pamela Anderson
Though she may be “The Last Showgirl,” the ‘Baywatch’ babe first rose to fame following her 1990 appearance in the magazine. As of 2024, Anderson still holds the record for having the most covers.
10
Carmen Electra
Famed for her mid-aughts films – and her marriage to Dennis Rodman — Carmen Electra modeled for the magazine before hitting the big screen.