Kia Drayton

Meet Kia Drayton, our Miss December 2006. She’s tall – 5’9” – and exotic, with dark hair and eyes. “I’m African-American, Polynesian and Native American,” she says. “My grandma was a full-blooded Cherokee.” Born on an American Air Force base in Germany, Kia’s home base was in North Carolina – but her father was a military man, and when he was reassigned, the family had to move. “I didn’t have a lot of friends,” she says. “I was always the new girl.” Things changed for Kia – her early twenties found her in Atlanta, Georgia, where a stint at Hooters earned her a spread in their 2004 calendar, not to mention three Atlanta Dymes calendars, a role in a 50 Cent video. “Then I got a call from Playboy,” she says. “They wanted me to come in for a test shoot. Of course I said yes.” Kia made friends with one of Hef’s girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson, who put in a good word for her with the boss. “I was supposed to stay for three days,” she says, “but I ended up staying at the Mansion for three months, and the Bunny House for another five.” These days, Kia is a successful model in Los Angeles, and a successful DJ, too – she loves hip-hop, R&B and Motown, and has more than 20,000 records on vinyl. “I feel like I’m home,” she says. “I know I’ll always be a member of the Playboy family.”