The famous babes of Hugh Hefner who struck gold

The famous babes of Hugh Hefner who struck gold

SantaBanta.com pays its tribute to Hugh Hefner - by sharing with the audience top Playboy playmates who made it big, thanks to the original Baba. This amazing guy made it big by starting out his enterprise with a paltry sum of $600 USD. The entrepreneurs need to learn from him. He made it big through sheer grit and determination apart from the originality and creativeness. He believed in his idea and stuck to it.

14. Sherlyn Chopra

In 2014 our very own Sherlyn Chopra also went for Playboy shoot and her nude photos went viral on the Internet and she became a star overnight.

13. Jenny McCarthy (Playmate of the Month - October 1993)

Jenny McCarthy was Playmate of the month for October 1993. She certainly had the requisite assets-long, blonde hair, a beautiful face and killer bod. After appearing for Playboy Magazine she later bagged some roles in many Hollywood films.

12. Carmen Electra (Playmate of the Month - October 1995)

Carmen Electra has posed for the magazine a few times, but 2009 was her golden year. For their 55th anniversary issue, Playboy gave Electra the cover spot and made the world toast to 55 more years.

11. Ursula Andress (Playmate of the Month - June 1965)

In 1964, Andress won a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for her role as the Bond girl, Honey Rider. In 1965, the biggest sex symbol of the '60s first showed off her golden globes inside the pages of Playboy. When asked why she did the spread, she simply replied, 'Because I'm beautiful.'

10. Kim Basinger (Playmate of the Month - February 1983)

Playboy knew they had a winner on their hands in Kim -- she was a hugely successful model who hadn't quite hit her stride as an actress, but that was a veritable certainty with her then-upcoming turn as a Bond girl opposite Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again. The magazine pulled out all the stops, running a mega-profile that enlisted the expertise of Bob Fosse, Roger Vadim, George Plimpton, and Connery himself.

9. Bo Derek (Playmate of the Month - March 1980)

By 1984, Bo Derek was already the star of men's fantasies worldwide, thanks to her previous Playboy shoots and her breakthrough role in 10. It was when she posed as a cowboy sucking a cigar that men realized they'd be okay with a little role reversal and they'd love to be her 'damsel in distress.'

8. Kelly Monaco (Playmate of the Month - April 1997)

As one of the only Playmates to have a legitimate entertainment career after her Playmate appearance in April 1997, Kelly Monaco has created a viable career out of her acting chops.

7. Denise Richards (Playmate of the Month - December 2004)

Back in December 2004, Richards was still with Charlie Sheen and she had just given birth to their daughter five months before that. She proved that women can still be unbelievably sexy after childbirth, and Charlie Sheen isn't really a winner after losing her.

6. Dita Von Teese

The sexy burlesque dancer, famous for her relationship with Marilyn Manson, posed for the mag several times, but this was her first cover. The picture-perfect pin-up apparently got the inspiration to become a glamor modeled thanks to perusing her dad's old issues of Playboy.

5. Anna Nicole Smith (Playmate of the Month - May 1992)

While Pamela is known as one of the most popular Playmates to be tabloid fodder in the 90s and beyond, she has been surpassed by the No. 2 slot holder. Miss May 1992 and POY 1993, Anna Nicole Smith was initially known as a fuller figured model that used our No. 1 slot holder as an idol.

4. Sharon Stone (Playmate of the Month - July 1990)

In 1990, two years before she showed off her goods in Basic Instinct, Stone's career took off after appearing in Total Recall. What gave this film the attention it deserved? Stone coincided the film's release with the release of the July 1990 Playboy issue.

3. Cindy Crawford (Playmate of the Month - July 1988)

In July of 1988 (and again in '96 and '98), Cindy Crawford decided to model her birthday suit instead of her typical high fashion designer clothing. We'd have to say the former looks exceptionally great on her.

2. Pamela Anderson (Playmate of the Month - February 1990)

Blonde bombshell Anderson has been posing for Playboy for three decades. She's also been on more covers for the magazine than any other person, so picking one was a challenge and a privilege. Her tongue-in-cheek January 2007 shoot pretty much epitomizes her relationship with the brand.

1. Marilyn Monroe (Playmate of the Month - December 1953)

This blonde bombshell is the woman that most models strive to emulate and has been used as a proverbial yardstick to which all others are compared. With marriages to the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller and relationships with John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe was the archetypal sex symbol throughout her professional career despite her lackluster success at relationships. Her pictures in Playboy were actually taken long before the debut of the magazine in which she premiered not as the first Playmate, but as the Sweetheart of the Month in December 1953.