FEATURES
Playboy's Woman
By Julie Schlosser

Christie Hefner – at the helm of Playboy Enterprises for more than 20 years – is working hard to put the hop back into the brand.

Fifteen floors up off a bustling street in downtown Chicago, a handful of employees walk the halls dressed in khakis, turtlenecks and comfortable shoes. The sun pours in through a sizeable skylight, and the top executives' offices, open and light, are framed with glass walls that look out onto the center of the building. The office is low-key and understated. In fact, if you didn't know better, this could be a software company. That is, except for the art on the walls. From the lobby to the back hallways, corporate art fills the space. But this isn't your typical corporate art collection. These are images of Playmates, neon rabbit ears and a slew of other bunny-inspired works. There's even an in-house curator to show you around. This is the headquarters of Playboy Enterprises, the heart of the adult entertainment business. But there's not one smoking jacket in sight, and everyone is fully clothed.

This is the house that Hugh built, but it's now, without a doubt, the house that Christie Hefner runs and has run for more than two decades. The legendary Hugh, who turns 81 this month, is hundreds of miles away, tucked inside his Holmby Hills, Calif., mansion with his three girlfriends. His ex-wife and his two youngest sons live next door.

[Christie] Hefner is pretty enough to be a Playmate, but she's composed, formally mannered and dressed conservatively in camel-colored knitwear. You're more likely to hear her talking politics than porn. Her passion for causes, ranging from First Amendment rights to women's issues, to hard to miss.

 

Read the rest of this story in the April.May issue of PINK, on newsstands now.