Beginning when company founder Hugh Hefner published Playboy's first issue in 1953, America has held a fascination with Playboy's Playmates. Each year, 12 women from around the world are selected for the pictorials in the magazine's center pages.
Yet, one only needs to look in Charlottesville's backyard to find the world's newest Playmate. Fourth-year College student "Amanda Paige" -- who makes appearances under a pseudonym for privacy purposes -- recently was crowned Miss October 2005. Amidst all the publicity, attention and $25,000 payment for nine pages of photos and interviews, the 34D-24-33 centerfold now is set to begin a modeling and promotional career literally from coast to coast.
My Angel is a Centerfold
Paige's beginnings posing with Playboy started in the Oct. 2004 "Girls of The ACC" issue, in which she was chosen as one of a handful of models from the University to appear naked or semi-naked in the conference-wide feature. Paige was the only model from all 11 ACC schools who was given a full-page pictorial. Prospective "Girls of the ACC" underwent tryouts in Charlottesville's Holiday Inn in late April 2004.
Following publication -- the photograph featured her eating an ice cream cone under the name of "Paige Gellar" -- Paige faced the difficult task of informing her parents of her decision to pose naked in the men's magazine.
"I didn't tell my family that I was doing it, so they found out when my issue came out," she said. "I'm their youngest daughter, so my mom was like, 'I'll support you no matter what, and I'll always love you because you're my daughter.'"
Paige said her big break came in Summer 2004 when she was asked to try out to be a Playmate.
"After 'Girls of the ACC' came out, I started thinking, 'Wouldn't it be nice if I could do more with it?' And then they called me," Paige said. "They said that Hef [Hugh Hefner] really liked my pictures and wanted to put me on the fast track. They asked me to fly out there and do a Playmate test, so I went there for three days -- I got my centerfold. I flew back two weeks later and shot it."
According to Playboy Public Relations Assistant Jessica Sigelbaum, prospective Playmates usually are scouted by photographers and then undergo a series of Playmate "test shots," which are ultimately submitted to Hefner for his approval. Hefner makes the final decision on which women to put in the magazine and when they will appear.
"Hef has final say over every single feature in the magazine -- he is known to be a very hands-on editor," Sigelbaum said.
Just Shoot Me
Posing as a centerfold was a different world for Paige. For the ACC shoot, she said hair and makeup took about an hour. Yet, for the Playmate shoot, it took about three hours -- and that did not even include wardrobe.
"You wouldn't think that with Playboy wardrobe wouldn't be such a big deal, but it really is," Paige said. "It's a really big deal. What [body parts] you put it on, how they place the clothing around you -- when you take it off."
A typical day of shooting for the issue started at around eight in the morning and concluded around five or six in the evening.
"You have to get in weird and uncomfortable positions," Paige said.
Paige's newest spread, which features her in numerous shots on a couch and in a studio library, depicts her as a "smart and sexy" college coed, according to Sigelbaum.
"For this particular issue, we just wanted to pick a very fresh-faced girl," Sigelbaum said. "We were looking for a girl-next-door kind of look."
Paige was able to fit that mold for Playboy.
"My hair's not natural, obviously," she said. "But my boobs are real."
Paige added that she was very satisfied with her spread in the current issue.
"I liked it because I think that it makes me different than a lot of other Playmates," she said. "A lot of them haven't finished college or haven't even gone to college."
Life in the Fast Lane
With school and other commitments getting in the way, Paige did not finish shooting until this summer. She spent a month living in the Playboy mansion and said she has been busy ever since.
"I hang out with celebrities," Paige said. "I walked the red carpet. I got to meet Paris Hilton, Anna Nicole Smith, the Wilson brothers, Laurence Fishburne, Steven Dorff, George Lucas and Tom Hanks."
During her stay, Playboy's new reality TV show, "The Girls Next Door" was being filmed. The E! TV series shows audiences the life and home of Hefner and his three girlfriends and featured Paige in several episodes.
"Life's pretty normal in the Playboy mansion," Paige said. "There are crazy parties, but night to night people don't run around naked. One night when I was there, I played dominoes with Hef and his girlfriends."
Despite the fact that the girls share the same boyfriend, Paige claims that "they never fought in front of me. They seem to get along really really well."
Of the girlfriends, Paige said she was closest friends with Kendra Wilkinson. She also became close with Hefner and said she looks at him as "a cute older man -- in a grandfather kind of way."
Now back in Charlottesville for the school year, she has to live the dual lives of a student and Playmate.
"I'm going home, writing a paper, doing research, and then I have to go to San Francisco tomorrow," Paige said.
She will spend a lot of time this month promoting her issue -- traveling to the West Coast, Boston and Las Vegas, just to name a few.
"I think these girls are usually very eager to promote their issue," Sigelbaum said. "But schoolwork comes first. Amanda's done a great job of balancing everything, but it's been crazy these past few days."
Although the busiest time for Paige will probably be this month, she is under contract with Playboy for two years, so the schedule will continue well past graduation in May.
As people get their hands on this month's issue of Playboy, Paige may be recognized more and more in public places. Thus far, she said no one has stopped her around Grounds or the Corner to comment on her spread.
Paige said she is not bothered by the fact that she is naked in front of the whole country.
"It's not like I walk around naked to class or anything," she said.
All that Glitters is not Gold
Although some in the University community may wonder what drawbacks Paige might face down the road after posing nude, Paige said she remains content with her decision.
"Some people are like, 'Don't you think it's going to affect your career in an adverse way?' But I really don't think that it will," she said. "If anything, it's given me more publicity. If someone didn't want me to have a job because of what I did, then I wouldn't want to work for them."
Third-year College student Brittany Timmons, a fellow "Girls of the ACC" alumna, said she initially wished she had not posed for the magazine.
"There was a point where I regretted doing it, but I don't now -- it was a growing experience," Timmons said. "Now it's kind of blown over. I don't think anybody really sees me differently now."
Timmons said at first there were "horrible rumors" being spread about her among students on Grounds.
"But now that it's over, it's cool because people are like, 'Oh you were that girl that was in Playboy!' and then it's a normal conversation," Timmons said.
Both Paige and Timmons stressed the need to be more guarded now when approached by interested men.
"I'm a little more cautious about meeting guys, just because you don't know why they really want to talk to you," Timmons said. "It's not really that bad, but something that I just look out for."
Paige said she asks herself: "Why is this guy dating me? Is he dating me for me or so he can say, 'I'm dating a Playmate?' It's hard enough just being in college and trusting your average 21 -year-old college guy."
The Next Big Thing
Paige said the stipulations of her two-year contract prohibit her from changing her looks, such as cutting or dying her hair or getting plastic surgery, without prior permission from Playboy.
She also added that she is in the running for the coveted "Playmate of the Year" award, which consists of $100,000 and a new car.
After graduation, Paige said she plans to move back to Los Angeles.
"Hef owns two other houses around the Playboy mansion," she said. "In one of them, he lets girls stay there up to like five months -- rent free. I'd like to get a steady job and model on the side. And eventually, I want to go back to grad school, probably law school."
Paige said she is currently single, but wishes to get married before turning 25.
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