Stephanie Heinrich

Playmate Stephanie Heinrich always comes in first. Petite and platinum blonde, with warm brown eyes, our Miss October 2001 was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, with an upbringing nothing short of all-American. “As a kid, I used to play tag football with my two older brothers in the yard,” she says, a little nostalgically. “Who would have thought that my future Centerfold would be shot in a football locker room?” After a stint as a high-school cheerleader, Stephanie attended the University of Cincinnati, where she studied criminal justice – but despite her love of detective work, she couldn’t shake the thought that she was destined for something more. On a whim, she submitted a photo to Playboy, and before she knew it, she was making her debut in our Girls of Conference USA pictorial. “When I actually made it into the magazine, I was shocked,” admits Stephanie. “There I was, in the October 2000 issue of Playboy! Even though it was only one photo, I felt like all my dreams had come true.” From there, Miss Heinrich’s star was on the rise. After a meeting with Hef and a move to the Mansion, she made Playboy history as our first-ever Cybergirl of the Month – and then in October 2001, one year to the day after her debut, she became a Playmate and a cover girl. From zero to Playmate in twelve months flat – not bad at all, though we’d expect nothing less of the woman Hef once dubbed “the Marilyn Monroe of the internet”. “I never forget where I came from,” says Stephanie. “I’m down to earth. My goals in life are to keep modeling and to pursue an acting career – and maybe become a millionaire, get married and have lots of kids!” Whatever our Miss October 2001 wants, she gets – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.