Vicki McCarty

Vicki McCarty is an accomplished, self-described feminist from Los Angeles, California. With an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, a law degree from Hasting College of the Law and an LL.B. from Cambridge University in international law, it’s safe to say Vicki is a smart cookie who understands just how valuable academics truly are. Which begs the question she is quite often asked—a question she has asked herself several times—why pose nude for Playboy? “Well, I suppose that the reason is that posing nude for Playboy was just about the last thing I would ever do. Not that I ever thought that either nude women or Playboy was a suitable object for disdain; they just did not seem to be compatible images with the successful-female-attorney image that I had created for myself. That was my attitude for a long time—in fact, right up to the moment when I decided to become a centerfold,” admits the lovely brunette who says choosing to pose for the publication was a decision she agonized over for quite some time. “I cannot even honestly say that I had overcome that dilemma when I introduced myself to Playboy in the summer of 1978. The search for the 25th Anniversary Playmate was being conducted in Los Angeles, and I had read about it in the Times. I was applying for an internship as a reporter with the Herald Examiner at the time, and that endeavor entailed writing unusual feature items.” Vicki’s plan was to write a firsthand account of being Playmate hopeful, hoping it would land her a job at the newspaper. Ironically, she actually didn’t want to be a Playmate and never wanted to pose nude for the magazine, but the all-natural beauty was committed to writing her article so she figured she’d act like she wanted it. “A few weeks later, when I had given up on the story for the Examiner, I received a call from Playboy, telling me that it was interested in taking more pictures of me for the magazine,” recalls Vicki who had every intention of rejecting the offer. “Well, turning down the magazine's offer was not as easy as I had thought it would be. I knew that appearing nude in a men's magazine might jeopardize my future in corporate law; it would certainly minimize my chances of being elected President; and it would subject me to suggestive remarks from some men, as well as political questions from some women. Naturally, my answer was yes.” While our Miss September 1979’s chances of landing the coveted position in the Oval Office may not happen, she did manage to turn her newfound fame into a lucrative career as a columnist for several magazines like Redbook and has written the widely successful series of self-help books, Girlfriends’ Guide, which includes the popular book-turned-television-show, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. Vicki McCarty will always be a feminist, a Playmate, a best-selling author and a force to be reckoned with.