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Every scream queen starts somewhere. Before she starred in A24’s “X” film series, Mia Goth modeled in ad campaigns for Miu Miu and Prada. “Scary Movie” made Regina Hall a household name, but in the years prior, she pursued commercial acting and earned a master’s degree from New York University. It may not come with college credit, but Playboy is widely recognized as a career launchpad for iconic actresses like Pamela Anderson and Marilyn Monroe. Less acknowledged, yet equally important, are the Playmates and other Playboy models who have gone on to shape the horror genre as we know it.
Scream queens and Playmates often share similar attributes. They can make the most of even a brief cameo, stealing the show with a single glance into the camera. A certain emotional intensity is required to captivate viewers, whether they’re watching a slasher film or eyeing a Centerfold. It makes sense, then, that the Venn diagram between horror darlings and Playboy alums features so much overlap. Below, we rounded up six incredible scream queens who have appeared in Playboy, because your Halloween watch list deserves an upgrade.
Joan Staley
Staley was scouted for Playboy by Life’s Lawrence Schiller, who would later photograph her Centerfold when she was named Miss November 1958. Born in Minnesota and raised in Los Angeles, Staley landed several small TV roles before posing for Playboy. In 1962, she entered scream queen territory when she played a waitress in “Cape Fear,” the beloved psychological thriller that would be remade by Martin Scorsese in 1991.
Sandy Johnson
At the time of her Playboy Centerfold as Miss June 1974, Johnson was a self-described beach bum. “People around here figure if I’m lying on the sand at 11 a.m., that’s my business,” she said in her accompanying interview. Four years later, she traded the sand for slasher films, portraying Judith Myers, the very first victim of Michael Myers, in the horror classic “Halloween.”
Photo by Phillip Dixon
Jenny McCarthy
Now a household name, McCarthy first appeared in Playboy as Miss October 1993, and was named Playmate of the Year in 1994. Later in the ’90s, she appeared on two episodes of “Baywatch” before pivoting to the world of horror. She appeared as Sarah Darling, an actress whose role mirrors her real life, in the 2000 blockbuster “Scream 3.” Three proved to be McCarthy’s magic number: In 2003, she starred alongside Playboy alum Pamela Anderson in the satirical classic “Scary Movie 3.”
Donna D’Errico
When she became our Miss September 1995, D’Errico was no horror movie maven—rather, she was running her own limo company in Las Vegas. After her Centerfold was published, she earned a regular role as Donna Marco on “Baywatch.” Then, in 1993, she starred in the direct-to-video horror feature “Candyman 3: Day of the Dead.” She plays Caroline McKeever, a living descendant of Candyman, played by the late Tony Todd.
Photo by Richard Fegley
Jaclyn Swedberg
A native of Chino Hills, California, Swedberg was Playboy’s Miss April 2011, and was later crowned our 2012 Playmate of the Year, making her one of our most recent scream queen converts. Swedberg made her horror movie debut in “Muck,” a 2015 indie slasher about a group of friends embroiled in chaos after escaping an ancient burial ground. Stream it on Tubi for a wild ride, though we can’t guarantee it’ll be sexy.