Q & A With Miss June 1969 Helena Antonaccio

Dianne: Helena, everybody will want to know the basics first. Where did you grow up?

Helena: I am from New Jersey, and I still live in the town where I grew up, which has three colleges. It's great for taking classes, plus it's great to be around a lot of young fresh-faced college kids every year. I love it. I live out in the countryside and as a child I played a lot with my older sister and my cousin Joanne. But being very shy, I spent a lot of time in my own little fantasy world. I loved playing with my dolls, dressing them up and doing their hair in different styles. And I loved drawing pictures and writing little stories, mostly about horses and dogs.

Dianne: How did you, a shy, young small town girl become a Playmate?

Helena: I became a Playboy bunny when I was on a wig modeling "go see" as they say in the New York modeling world, and I didn't get the job because the woman said I wasn't sexy enough. I was upset and so mad that she thought I wasn't sexy enough that I just walked over to the Playboy Club and asked to become a Playmate. No one told me to do it, and to this day I have no idea how I knew where the Club was or, being so shy, how I knew what to say and do. But I did it and a week later even before Bunny Training School I was picked as Playmate from my meeting with Pompeo Posar, the famous photographer, who was there taking photos of the bunnies. When he took my photo he asked if I would be interested in becoming a Playmate. Wow, was I ever, and the rest is history.

Dianne: OK now, Helena, tell us your secret. You looked fabulous in your Centerfold and you are still taking fabulous photos today.

Helena: Believe me, looking good back then was just luck. If you got me on a good day, I just looked good. Today, having had the equipment longer and knowing how to care for myself, if I have a bad day I know how to fix it. I eat a very healthy diet, take vitamins and exercise every day.