Hugh Hefner Biography Hugh Hefner is not only the founder of a magazine, but also of a lifestyle. In some ways he can be considered the ultimate workaholic devoting himself and his home to Playboy. Whether or not you agree with his moral fiber, no one can claim that Hefner does not work extremely hard at being the best in his industry. Hefner’s decision to become editor-in-chief of such a provocative magazine may have actually begun as some sort of teenage rebellion. He was born in 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, to Methodist parents. He grew up in a home where affection was never shown, making it difficult to form a loving bond with his parents. After serving in the army during WWII, Hefner attended University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign majoring in psychology. Hefner was by no means a slacker while in school. When he wasn’t studying he was the editor for Shaft magazine and also sold cartoons to various magazines.
While in school he also pursued a relationship with Mildred Williams and in 1949 they married. Although the marriage lasted only ten years, it did produce two children, Christie and David Paul. Christie has gone on to become the Chairperson of Playboy Enterprises. After college, Hugh worked for a couple different magazines including Esquire. His real dream though was to start his own magazine. To raise the start up costs for his magazine, Hefner rented out his own furniture for $400. After attracting over forty-five investors, Hefner had raised over $10,000. The idea of creating Playboy began in college. According to Hefner, he wanted to create a magazine that was true to his nature. The name Playboy was suggested to Hefner by his long-time friend, Eldon Sellers. He chose the rabbit as his logo because they are considered to be the playboys of the animal world. Hefner has even had a species of rabbit named after him. Their scientific name is the Sylvilagus palustris hefneri. With his experience in advertising, Hefner knew that he would have to package the content in such a way that the magazine was both acceptable and desirable to young men. To do so, he reinvented himself into the ultimate playboy who kept the company of young playmates. Playboy magazine debuted in December of 1953. To attract people to the magazine Hefner bought the rights to a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe. The debut issue sold more the 54,000 copies. Over the next couple of years Hefner continued to use reprints of nude women, but later chose to use only original photographs. In 1955 the first centerfold appeared in the July issue. The playmate was an employee of the magazine. She had made the request to Hefner for a new copy machine in the office and he agreed to purchase one if she posed nude in the magazine.
Today, Playboy magazine has become a huge success and has been the big break for some young actresses in Hollywood, including Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, and Erika Eleniak. Hefner considers himself to be a libertarian and has set up the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards to recognize those who fight for the first amendment rights of all. To date, Hefner has been married three times; his last marriage was to Playmate of the Year, Kimberly Conrad Hefner in 1989. Although he dates many of the playmates, usually more than one at a time, he has not had any children out of wedlock. His last child, Marston Glenn, was born on Hefner’s sixty-fourth birthday. For many years there remained one special Playmate in Hugh's life, Holly Madison, who was perminently by Hugh's side and was frequently photographed for the cover of Playboy magazine along with Hugh's other two favourite's Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson who became known as The Girls Next Door. Holly's ambition was said to be to eventually have a child with Hefner and to someday become his fourth wife. Although Hugh refered to Holly as the 'love of his life' there was no sign of either a baby or wedding bells so with reality staring her firmly in the face, Holly left Hef in 2008. Let us know about updates to the Hugh Hefner Biography at editor@yuddy.com | 
