Additional info: "I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the party capital of
the world. When I was two years old, my mother and I
relocated to Boston, Massachusetts to live with my
great-aunt. After spending a couple of years there, my
grandfather suggested that we live with him for a while in
California. My mother agreed, so within the next few days we
made a life-changing trip to Oakland, California. I don't
remember much about that time in my life, but I am very
thankful that my mother had enough courage to relocate the
two of us to [literally] the other side of the United States.
Although I do not have any siblings, I still enjoyed my
childhood because my best friend came from a large family, so
I had the chance to experience slightly what it would be like
to have brothers and sisters. I also visited my cousins in
New Orleans during the summer. We would go to water parks and
indulge in crawfish and crabs as we relaxed on the porch
after a long day. The seafood in New Orleans has always been
my favorite -- those were the best times of my life. My high
school days were fun, but I grew disinterested after the
first two years. The typical high school life didn't appeal
to me, but I always kept my grades up and made the honor roll
every quarter.
Education is still very important to me and I am currently
studying business and investments at a college in Berkeley,
California. Berkeley has been my home now for many years and
I love it here. Everyone is so diverse -- it's one of the few
places where people have their own individuality. I can't see
myself relocating out of the Bay Area, but I have done some
traveling for various modeling projects, to Los Angeles in
particular and I recently completed a shoot for Venus
Swimwear in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since my schedule is so
hectic, I usually stay at home and relax whenever I get free
time. I'll play with my bird, Kani, who has a beautiful
mixture of light blue, white and gray feathers with a patch
of yellow on the top of his head, or I'll take care of my
various fish (a black and white eel being my favorite) that I
keep in a saltwater tank. I also like to listen to a variety
of music, including hip hop, reggae, jazz and R&B. My
favorite artists are Sade and Brian McKnight because you can
tell that they enjoy performing. When I'm not singing along
with my favorite song, I'll unwind with a book written by my
favorite author, Donald Goines. I become so involved when I
read his stories because they are true-to-life and relate to
people on many different levels.
My modeling career started about a year ago in San Francisco.
A friend of mine brought me a newspaper clipping from the San
Francisco Chronicle. It boldly announced that Playboy was
searching for their 2000 Playmate -- and offering the winner
$200,000 -- so of course I had to jump on that opportunity.
It must have been my destiny, because the last day of
auditions were held on the day after my 18th birthday. The
scouts said that they would contact me to arrange a date to
fly me to LA for a test shoot. Within two months I received
the call that changed my life. Even though I didn't receive
the title of the 2000 Playmate, I am very proud to say that I
was chosen from more than 16,000 enthusiastic, beautiful
girls to hold the title of Miss July 2000.
Even though I thought their work was tastefully done and very
respectable, I had mixed feelings about Playboy before I
posed. I always thought about becoming a Playmate, but I
wasn't sure if I really wanted to participate in such a
life-changing event. After considering how it could change my
life in a good way, I decided to participate in the world of
Playboy. I didn't tell any of my family members that I'd
become a Playmate. (The majority of my family lives in New
Orleans and Boston.) Only my mother knew -- mainly because
she encouraged me to do it. My Playmate shoot was very
difficult to do. Most of the Playmates try to look as if
they're enjoying themselves and having a great time, but in
most cases it is the complete opposite. The poses that seem
to look the best in the magazine are the hardest to do. I
wouldn't do a second shoot again to get the title of
Playmate, but I would do it for the title of Celebrity
Pictorial. I must say that, with all the neck and back pains,
everything turned out beautifully.
One of the highlights of being a Playmate is visiting the
world-famous Playboy Mansion. The landscaping is beautiful,
and in some parts of the property you feel as though you've
entered a jungle because there are wild animals, such as
monkeys and flamingoes, running around. My favorite thing to
do at the Mansion is eat -- the crab cakes and oatmeal
cookies are my favorites. While attending some of the
parties, I've met many celebrities and a variety of nice
Playmates, including Miss June 2000 Shannon Stewart and Miss
March 1999 Alexandria Karlsen. Of course, I've also had the
pleasure of speaking with Mr. Hugh Hefner, who is very
down-to-earth, but knows how to enjoy himself.
Since posing for Playboy, I've had the opportunity to do
promotions, a few radio interviews and print work. I've
modeled for Hawaiian Tropic, Shirley of Hollywood and a
calendar for Unity. As for television, I'm constantly going
on auditions -- so far I've landed a recurring role on The X
Show, featured on FX channel.
To all those women who have the desire to become a Playmate:
Don't look at Playboy as something you have to do or your
life will not be fulfilled. Playboy is very picky and
sometimes I think they don't even know what type of girl
they're looking for. What you should do is send a few simple
nude Polaroid pictures to the Playboy studios. After you send
the photos, don't dwell about getting selected...just relax.
The less you think about it, the better your response will
be."
Cheers, Neferteri
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