Karen Velez, Playmate of the Year, 1985

In a way, Karen Velez is a lot like the Tahiti of myth and history. If you recall, when Fletcher Christian finally got shore leave from nasty Captain Bligh, he found an island of startling natural beauty--and beauties who were startling in their openness, in their lack of guile or pretense. That's Karen. She's only a visitor to Tahiti, but there's no coyness, no affectation about her. She's as direct as sunlight in the South Pacific. Reading between her lines will just give you a headache: She says what she means and, more than that, she is what she appears to be. You may find it hard to believe from the photographs on these pages, but Karen doesn't care a lot about her physical appearance. Not that she doesn't realize there's a reason men stop dead in their tracks when they see her. It's always just ... a pleasant surprise. Looks, in Karen's case, are a bonus, like the brightly colored wrapping on a Christmas present. Her focus is inward. "When I was picked for Playmate of the Year, I was flabbergasted. 'You guys want me?' " Even then, it took a long time to sink in--though part of that may have been our fault. "I was told, 'Karen, you're shooting for Playmate of the Year.' They don't tell you you're actually Playmate of the Year until...." She thinks for a second, then realizes, "They've never told me!"

You have our apology, Karen. Things did happen very fast. Karen, you'll remember, was our December Playmate. She had barely had time to savor the limelight from that appearance when we decided she was to be the year's premier gatefold girl. And the next stop was Tahiti.

"We went straight to Bora Bora, a little out island, which is gorgeous. Although it was the most desolate, it was my favorite of the islands. No TV, no magazines, no phones. We'd stay in these little bungalows, and we just had the fan going and that was it. We were there during the rainy season, and it rained for half a day, then got hot (text concluded on page 202)Playmate of the Year(continued from page 131) as hell. But I loved it. Basically, it's paradise, just like they say."

Karen appreciates simplicity: It's the basics of life that seem to appeal to her the most, not the luxuries. For several months now, she has been dating Lee Majors of ABC-TV's The Fall Guy. It's easy to see why the fall guy fell, but even he was struck by her understated charm.

"When I met Karen, I didn't know she was a Playmate," Lee told us. "She had on baggy clothes, and I just remember that she was nice. Later, when we dated, I found her to be very intelligent, with a great sense of humor, and not at all interested in the entertainment industry, which was nice for a change. Even though I haven't known her very long, I find she is ... comfortable. She's very quiet and unassuming--all the qualities she has are nice. We've never had an argument, but if we do, I can't wait to turn her over on my knee.

"I was very happy for her when she told me she was Playmate of the Year. When you look at it, it's quite an honor--most of the ladies in the country never dream of being in Playboy. Well, to accomplish that and then be named Playmate of the Year--that's an honor. I think she will represent the magazine quite well."

A lot of our readers thought so, too. Karen's mail has mounted and she has tried to answer all of it. Her problem is that when she gets an interesting letter, she wants to give an interesting response. One letter she wrote in answer to a reader went on for 20 pages.

For the near future, Karen's interests will be sidelined while she is busy with the duties of the Playmate of the Year. But after that, well, she isn't worried. Something good, she is sure, will happen.

"I just run on my instincts, whatever they tell me. They've been right until now, so that's what I'm going to follow for a while longer."

And what do her instincts tell her the next step should be?

"I want to learn things, do things I don't know anything about. That's what I'm aiming for now--to find something to do that I've never done before that I can make money at and learn from."

So that she won't have to rush into any decisions, we've given her a little breathing room in the form of a check for $100,000. To carry it to the bank, she gets a spunky new Toyota MR2 mid-engine two-seater.

Levelheaded, as usual, Karen isn't going to blow the wad without a lot of thought. She isn't eager to return to the world of nine-to-fivers.

"Until I really know what I want to do with the money, I've decided to put it in the bank and think about it--let myself feel like I have a buck for a change."