Ellen Michaels

Completing a two year program in elementary education at Queensborough was the only ambition Ellen Michaels had when we met her. The petite brunette from Queens, NY told us about her goal to graduate and continue her education at Queens College where she would obtain a teaching certificate and help mold the minds of the next generation. “I'll probably consider teaching in the public elementary schools here, but the picture does look pretty bleak, at least right now,” says Ellen who’s been working as a receptionist after school. “There is a shortage of teaching positions in the city, and I feel that the teachers are generally underpaid. So after earning my degree, I may have to look around elsewhere for a teaching job until the situation with the New York schools improves.” While procuring a position as a teacher may be difficult, Ellen won’t give up on completing her education—even if it means attending classes which bore her to pieces. “I’m afraid I’m not crazy about geology,” says Ellen whose first class today happens to be geology lab. “But, it’s a requirement for my degree. Frankly, I’d rather study people than rocks.” ‘Ellen Michaels has a body that Playboy fans everywhere would want to study,’ was the exact thought Playboy recruiters had when they first spotted her. Her long, dark hair, all-natural, voluptuous body and a smile that could make even the toughest men weak in the knees—Ellen had to be our Playmate of the Month. Becoming our Miss March 1972 proved to be a lucrative career move for her. Following her centerfold, she was asked to pose for album covers for Eric Clapton, Barrabás and The Salsoul Orchestra, for the covers of romance novels and eventually, print ads for companies like Volkswagen, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi and Polariod. Ellen took to modeling like a duck to water—where did her effortless ability to model come from? It wasn’t from the women in her family, that’s for sure. “My father is a heavyweight wrestling champion and former Mr. America,” says Ellen of her former top model father who would always made sure their family spent time together whenever he wasn’t working. “Ever since I was a little kid, I've been spending vacations in Miami with my parents and younger brother. And we still go to Miami together for holidays like Christmas and Easter. But, when they can't make it, I usually take off alone or with girlfriends. I can't say I really do a whole lot when I'm in Florida, except fool around in the water and lie in the sun, but that's something you sure can't do year round in New York.” While our Miss March 1972 takes every opportunity possible to travel to Miami and beat the cold weather, she admits there are some perks to living so close to New York. “I love having dinner in a posh restaurant, then dancing in a discotheque,” admits Ellen who frequently visits Studio 54. “In my spare time, I also like to exercise and shop. In fact, I like a lot of things about the city. It has great theaters, restaurants, museums and all that. I have no real complaints about New York. But, the one thing it doesn't have is great weather. It's muggy in the summer, freezing in the winter and rainy in the spring and fall. And for a sun worshiper like me, that kind of weather means no fun at all.” After all the fuss she’s made over New York’s cold weather, fans of Ellen Michaels would be surprised to hear she still lives in The Big Apple and is a nature photographer who specializes in animal and landscape photography.