When Sandy and Mandy Bentley got a phone call from Hugh M. Hefner in the summer of 1998, they both thought it was a joke. The twins, from a conservative Catholic family in Joliet, Illinois, had met Playboy's Editor-in-Chief a few weeks earlier in Los Angeles, when they were dancing late one night at the Garden of Eden nightclub. Introduced to Hef by Playmate of the Year Heather Kozar, they had sat on the arms of his chair and chatted with him briefly--but they'd also gotten nervous, excused themselves to go to the ladies' room and made a quick exit.So when Sandy went back to school in Las Vegas and then heard that Hef was trying to track her down, she figured friends were playing a practical joke on her. And when she subsequently phoned Mandy in Joliet and told her that they had a gentleman caller, Mandy didn't buy it either. "Sandy said, 'You'll never believe who's on the phone,' " says Mandy. "When she said Hugh Hefner, I said, 'Sure, and I'm the queen of England.'"
The British throne may not be in their future, but Sandy and Mandy Bentley have become royalty on the grounds of the Playboy Mansion and in the clubs of LA. Along with Brande Roderick and Jessica Paisley, they're part of the head-turning quartet that shares Hef's life, and his bed. "It was a growing friendship for a long time," Sandy says of the unusual relationship. "We took it very, very slow, and it just grew. You wouldn't think he would like so many of the same things we do, like sitting in bed and watching a Disney cartoon. Maybe being from the Midwest has a lot to do with it." Adds Mandy, "To me, Hef's just the guy with strawberry ice cream on his face every night. We make up names and goof around with him, and it feels so normal. The shock value just isn't there anymore."
While the relationship has catapulted the 22-year-old twins into the spotlight--and now into the pages of Playboy--it hasn't changed their ambitions. Sandy still attends college in Las Vegas, where she's studying psychology; Mandy wants to pursue modeling and acting in Los Angeles, but also plans to complete her college education. Tops on their agenda at the moment, though, is having fun, enjoying their new opportunities--and most of all, doing it together. "We used to have a bit of sibling rivalry," says Sandy. "But as we've grown older, I've realized she's the one constant I have in my life, the one person I can rely on no matter what. And now we're the closest we've ever been. She's more than a twin or a sister--Mandy's my best friend in the whole world."
