Playboy's Playmate Review

a roundup of the past delightful dozen

There Are difficult decisions and there are really difficult decisions, and this one falls into the latter category. Only one of the 12 beautiful women on these pages will win Playmate of the Year 2002, and we want to know who you think deserves the crown. It's going to be a close one, but who do you think will skin ahead of the competition? The former pool shark? The Golden Globes party crasher? The Sin City model? The Russian immigrant? The Canadian? The Perfect Woman? The DVS singer? The Baywatch beauty? Even though choosing one Playmate will be a challenge, we've made the process easier than ever this year with our online capability.

Indicate your choice for Playmate of the Year at Playboy.com.

Miss May

Crista Nicole

Crista has a new boyfriend and is settling into their new home in Las Vegas as she continues modeling. "I want to model for another five or six years and take psychology classes on the side." she says. "I've done catalog work, promotions for company conventions and a lot of traveling to the East Coast for Playboy." So what country is she eager to pose in? "I was modeling Playboy's new line of shoes in Vegas and would love to go to Germany or Italy to promote them." she says. "My ancestors on my dad's side are from Germany, so I'm dying to go."

Miss January

Irina Voronina

Since becoming a Playmate and posing as a Hard Rock girl on the April cover of Playboy, this tall glass of vodka has immigrated to America. "I'm on a work visa, but I still visit my family in Russia." she says. "I love the U.S. and its people." Irina walks the catwalk and does print modeling in Los Angeles and New York while continuing her work for Playboy. "Moving to LA and absorbing the culture has helped my English improve," she says with her adorable Natasha Nogoodnik accent. "I get lots of fan mail and write back to everyone."

Miss September

Dalene Kurtis

Dalene has a Doris Day-like freshness that makes her picture perfect. "I just modeled for the cover of a romance novel," she says, which makes perfect sense to us. When she's not taking acting classes or modeling. Dalene keeps busy working on her new website and promoting Playboy. "I signed 300 magazines in my hometown of Bakersfield. California." she says. "I enjoy being a Playmate and it means a lot when fans write to me. I appreciate that guys take time out of their day to contact me. so I love replying to them all."

Miss June

Heather Spytek

Heather recently celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with a cruise to Mexico and the Caribbean. Now she's fixing up her new home with her husband. Marcello. in Hollywood. FLorida. "I keep pretty busy." she says. "I'm a college sophomore and studying to be a child psychologist. Playboy has been an exciting experience." After crashing the Golden Globes show two years ago and accompanying Hef's posse last year, will Heather try for a Globes hat trick? "We'll see," she says, giggling. "I should keep up the tradition!"

Miss August

Jennifer Walcott

After working behind the scenes in film craft services, Jennifer is getting exposure on the more dynamic side of the camera. She was one of the glamour girls in the Stereophonics' trippy video Have a Nice Day and has been answering a lot of casting calls. "I flew my family to Los Angeles for a vacation and to show them my new life." she says. "I'm trying to make the most of my Playboy experience and, after that, I want to go back to school. I want to dig deeper and experience things that I normally wouldn't think of."

Miss November

Lindsey Vuolo

Lindsey is currently a sophomore studying business. She likes to chat up her 65 sorority sisters about all things Playboy. "They're like inquisitive kids and ask a million questions." she says. The 20-year-old mixes a mean cocktail at a popular college bar to help pay for her education. "Guys will ask my boss why a Playmate works at his bar. He laughs and says. "She's still a human being, still has to work, still goes to the bathroom.' My ultimate goal is to get my degree, but I'll still model and act part-time when the opportunity arises."

Miss October

Stephanie Heinrich

Stephanie is still living large at the Mansion with her pooch Beemer and two new additions to the family: a golden retriever named Harley and a chihuahua called Cheech. She appeared in a Ja Rule video and was a celebrity guest on the dating show Rendez-View. Stephanie's also thinking about going back to college. "I really want to be a news reporter," she says. "My job would be different every day and I'd get to go behind the scenes." Did she manage to save any Playmate money for tuition? "Absolutely. I haven't spent a dime of it." she says.

Miss July

Kimberley Stanfield

Although she visits her family in Vancouver every few weeks, Kimberley plans on staying in LA for a while. "I have my own little house and a convertible." she says. "I wanted to get established on my own. so I've been trying out for movies and commercials, and I've done magazine shoots and calendars." The 20-year-old asserted her independence by celebrating her first Fourth of July at the Mansion and in some of our holiday traditions. "There were fireworks and a barbecue." she says. "We partied all night."

Miss February

Lauren Michelle Hill

Lauren, who was discovered by Playboy at a swimsuit competition in St. Croix, now lives in LA "I'm still interested in journalism, and I'll probably enroll in school here." she says. "I've been going on auditions and doing a lot of traveling." Lauren's plane was grounded during one trip when the terrorist attacks struck New York. "I rented a small motor home with Playmate Daphne Duplaix and her family, and the eight of us drove from Chicago to LA." she says. "It took two days, so I got to see parts of the country I'd never visited before."

Miss April

Katie Lohmann

You can't miss Katie, who has completed a wide range of projects this year. She appeared in S Club 7 in Hollywood, The Man Show and a slew of print campaigns and calendars. "I was also cast as the Perfect Woman for a documentary about the human face on the Learning Channel." she says. "I was flattered." Katie cherishes fan feedback and got quite a reaction to her pictorial from one friend, singer Michael Bolton. "His face had the look of a boy opening his first Playboy." she says. "It was so cute."

Miss March

Miriam Gonzalez

Miriam relocated to Los Angeles after visiting the Getty Museum. "I was admiring the oil paintings and went out on a balcony and saw snow-capped mountains on the left and the ocean on the right." she says. "I thought. Where else can you get all this?" Miriam has been taking acting classes and got fast and furious with Playboy promotional work at the Daytona 500 and Winston Top 500. "When I feel down, I pull out my fan mail." she says. "I feel blessed there are people out there who care. I write a note to everyone who writes to me."

Miss December

Shanna Moakler

Shanna has acquired an obsession with yoga. "I felt so traumatized by my Playmate interview that I needed spiritual guidance," she jokes. Shanna has been house hunting for a place she can share with her daughter, auditioning for "a couple of big projects," and looking for a record label for her girl group, DVS. She's still dating Dennis Quaid and is hoping her pending $62.5 million palimony suit against former boyfriend Oscar De La Hoya settles out of court. "I just want us all to move on with our lives." she says.