Jenny McCarthy

Jenny McCarthy is living proof that the good Catholic girl can be the naughtiest one in the room. Born in 1972 and raised just outside Chicago, she grew up going to Sunday mass in a devout family and later studied nursing at Southern Illinois University. But college bills were piling up, and the blonde with the cheeky grin had an idea that would have made the nuns faint: she sent her photos to Playboy.

The magazine said yes immediately. Her pictorial in October 1993 introduced the world to a different kind of centrefold. Jenny did not just pose; she laughed, pulled faces, flirted with the lens and then, without warning, dropped the act and turned up the heat. Golden hair, baby-blue eyes, generous curves and a body that looked made for mischief. Readers had never seen a Playmate who was this sexy and this funny at the same time, and they voted with their wallets. In 1994 she was crowned Playmate of the Year.

That mix of wild humour and undeniable sex appeal became her trademark. In her photos you can almost hear her giggling between shots: one frame is pure pin-up, all soft skin and smouldering stare, the next she is winking as if she knows exactly what you are thinking. Hugh Hefner loved the contrast between the wholesome Midwestern girl and the bombshell under the clothes, and so did everybody else. She would return to the Playboy cover again and again over the years.

Hollywood came knocking next. Jenny became an MTV icon as the outrageous co-host of the dating show Singled Out, got her own sketch show and sitcom, and appeared in films such as BASEketball, Scream 3 and John Tucker Must Die. She wrote best-selling books, sat at the table of The View, hosted her own radio show and later became a judge on The Masked Singer, all without ever losing that naughty sparkle in her eyes.

For many fans, though, the real Jenny is the woman in these pictures: fearless, a little bit dirty-minded and completely comfortable in her own skin. A centrefold who made you smile and blush at the same time. Take your time with this gallery; she certainly did not hold anything back.

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