After high school I became involved with the Miss Hawaiian Tropic competitions -- but that didn't last long, because I really disliked the way the crowd would sometimes taunt us. I eventually moved on to posing for calendars and swimwear catalogs and appeared in various music videos. But then my life took a different turn.

When Playboy photographer David Mecey discovered me, I had graduated from college with honors and was trying to figure out how I was going to pay tuition at UCLA, where I had been accepted into dental school. I decided to test to be a Playmate, and shortly thereafter I was chosen to be Miss January 1992. I won't lie to you: I had my reservations about posing. I've never had an issue with nudity, per se, but I think that looks should only be part of what makes a superior person, and I firmly believe in equal rights for women. I was impressed to see that Hef actually agreed with me on this. Finding Playboy to be a very professional organization, I realized that the Playboy experience is really whatever you choose to make of it. So I decided to hop on for the adventure of a lifetime. And, boy, has it ever been! Thanks to Playboy I've made some wonderful lifelong friends. I travel first-class around the world on assignments, party with celebrities and make a wonderful living as a model and actress. To see unpublished photos from my Playmate pictorial, join the Playboy Cyber Club.