Melissa Evridge

Born and raised in Kentucky, Melissa Evridge comes from a family of thoroughbred horse farmers. The Lexington sweetheart has been riding stallions since the age of three, but blonde-haired Melissa had a different direction in mind for her future. “Growing up in Lexington, I’ve been around horses my whole life,” says Missy Evridge. “I’m an OK rider. It’s been a great business for my family. I just developed other interests, I guess. It’s lucky for me that I developed in all the right areas.” Keeping her saddle and spurs for her days off, the all-natural easy rider was determined to pursue a modeling career. “I’d always dreamed of becoming Miss America. But as I grew older, I decided that beauty pageants were too exploitative of the girls who competed. I like to be the one making the choices that have a direct impact on my life,” explains Missy. In losing a contestant like this Kentucky beauty, Miss America has definitely missed out—but lucky for us, their loss is Playboy’s gain. “That is what’s so great about being a Playmate. I can be part of something important and still say I’ve made my own decisions,” says blue-eyed Melissa. Miss Evridge first posed for Playboy’s Girls of the Southeastern Conference pictorial before making her big break as Miss August 1990. “Being in Playboy really had an impact on my life. It made me sort of a mini-celebrity here in Lexington," says Melissa. “Of course, some people here weren't as pleased with it as I was.” Unfortunately, Missy was fired from her position at a local bank when her Playboy pictorials were released. But ever positive, this small-town girl always looks on the bright side in any bad situation. Miss Evridge was quite pleased with her Playboy spread and has decided she will continue to model after she wraps up a few loose ends. “I've decided to devote all my time to finishing my schooling. That's very important to me,” says our Playmate of the Month “Eventually, I'd love to model and act and still have Lexington as my home base.” Missy is a woman with her priorities in order, and we’re just glad that being a Playmate was on her list.