Victoria Nika Zdrok

Back in the Ukraine, Victoria Nika Zdrok often felt the odd woman out. Born and raised in Kiev, Victoria was taught to worship Lenin, which didn’t sit too well with a woman of her intelligence – after all, she speaks five languages, and spends her spare time reading French poetry. “I was very talented, but I knew I could not make it in a system that lacks freedom of expression,” says Victoria. “I like to know things. I’m an explorer.” Moving to the U.S., Miss Zdrok enrolled in two universities in dual courses of law and psychology, earning a J.D. and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology after seven years of intense study. Though she got her start as our Miss October 1994, you may know Victoria as an adult film actress, a non-practicing attorney and a sex therapist – basically a Jane of all relevant, red-blooded trades. She’s a published author, too, best known for her bestselling title The Anatomy of Pleasure. “My ambition is to promote human rights that transcend national boundaries,” she says, and we’d agree that sex is a basic human right. “I posed for Playboy to get the feminist message across that professional women should be able to express their sexuality, and not get punished for it.” Far from punishment, Miss Zdrok has earned her fair share of accolades in the U.S., and she’s a trusted advisor on all matters between the sexes. “In Kiev, I did not think of myself as pretty,” she says. “The celebration of a woman’s looks is not part of a Communist society. I’m very liberal – and I’m someone who follows my own course.” Of course you do, Miss Zdrok – and we’re only too happy to follow.