Penny Baker

“From the time I was about 11, when I began looking at fashion magazines, I wanted to be a model. I'd stare at cover girls and wish I could be just like them,” says our 30th Anniversary Playmate. Meet Penny Baker, a model who’s been striking poses and stomping down catwalks since before she even had her first kiss. The naturally voluptuous blonde was raised in the town of Springville where the prospects for a budding model were slim. Thanks to her patient and devoted parents, the young teenager would make weekly 25 mile trips to Buffalo. “My parents were wonderful. They had to drive me back and forth, since I was too young to drive myself, and I often wasn't getting paid more than $25 per job,” gushes our Miss January 1984 who knows how fortunate she is to have them. “My parents were paying for the gas and buying me lunch and, probably, spending as much as I was earning. But, they always let me keep every dollar I earned.” Soon enough, the tall model entered the Modeling Association of America International competition, where she was told she has what it takes to be a household name, but she’d need to wait a little while longer before that could happen. “They also told me that I was still too young to live in New York by myself, and they told me to get in touch with them in a year, when I'd finished high school,” explains Miss Baker. Which brings us to the present—Penny made the trek to The Big Apple and upon realizing how high the cost of living is, she moved to Chicago and signed with Playboy Models. “I'm enjoying Chicago,” says Penny who was asked to enter our 30th Anniversary Playmate Search by our executives. “The people at Playboy Models suggested I enter. Once I made up my mind, I wasn't going to settle for being anything less than the 30th Anniversary Playmate.” She had what we wanted—beauty, brains and modeling talent rarely seen in an 18 year old. Now that she’s the face representing three decades of Playmates, Penny says her next step is to attend college. “When this year's over, I'll go to school. But, I want to enjoy this ride while it’s happening,” says Miss Baker. This is one ride we hope never ends.