Britt Fredriksen

Learning English for Norwegian model Britt Fredriksen hasn’t been a walk in the park, but she’s been hitting the books and the streets of Palo Alto to practice with the locals. “It’s more a group thing than school was back home,” says Britt who was a high school teacher before she moved to the United States. “And that’s great. I’m learning at least as much English from all my friends as from books.” Being the student when you’re used to be the teacher wasn’t an easy transition for Britt and to prepare for her trip stateside, the brown-eyed beauty with the short blonde bob spent some time in England to learn the basics. “My home town—near Trondheim, about two thirds of the way down the coast—is bigger than a village,” explains the all-natural blonde of her hometown back in Norway. “But, it's isolated enough to have a country feeling. I'm sure I'd never be comfortable with anything made of plastic.” From her sweet village to the bustling San Francisco Bay, Britt lives in a small bungalow full of English textbooks from Foothill College, art books and jars of homemade preserves which sit neatly on her window sill. The health-conscious Scandinavian has been feeling rather homesick in short two years she’s been in the United States, but she’s found a way to combat her sadness. “Back home, such a thing is as natural as going to the beach,” says our Playmate of the Month as she leaves her little cottage. “Here, though, I go only at sunrise, when nobody else is up. But, the forest itself and the air are just like home.” With her summer days spent at the beach and on the tennis court, our Miss June 1968 was content with life in California, but like any good Norwegian she couldn’t wait for winter. “On my Aspen trips, and right here, too, I'm surrounded by welcome reminders of home,” says Britt who has some words of advice for her fellow countrywomen. “Any typical Scandinavian girl—which I think I am—who's thinking about coming to America should head straight out West. It's the part of the country best suited to our love for the outdoor life.” Attending school and ski trips in Aspen has become quite costly so Britt found herself a good job to finance her lifestyle. “At first, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in America,” recalls our Miss June 1968. “When I first arrived in the States, I worked first at a Nordic-style restaurant on a lake in Minnesota. That's where I heard about Playboy. Almost before I knew it, I was wearing your marvelous Bunny costume at the Playboy Club in St. Louis. Then, when I heard in St. Louis that there was an opening here in San Francisco, I took one look at a map of your country and decided that I'd be more at home in San Francisco, with its ocean and Bay, than I was in the Midwest—even though St. Louis was fun. Like just about everyone in Scandinavia, I've been in love with water sports since I was a child. Now, I've added water-skiing and body surfing to the swimming and diving I did back home. I just enjoy the sunshine!” We cannot thank Norway enough for creating a sweetheart like Britt Fredriksen.