I never thought in a million years I would win Playmate of the Year," says Dalene Kurtis. "It won't hit me until the issue comes out and I see myself on the cover." For the readers, it wasn't even close; Dalene was the runaway vote magnet in the Pmoy sweeps. When we caught up with her, she was stuck in Los Angeles traffic and in the process of changing digs. "I'm moving to Manhattan Beach to be closer to Playboy for my Playmate of the Year duties," she says. "I would love to do charity work to benefit animals. I also do Operation Playmate for the troops and would be honored to visit some of them on a battleship. What they're doing for our country is amazing, and I want to show my patriotism in any way I can."
As she weaves her way up the 405 and gives fellow drivers a much-needed breath of fresh air, Dalene mulls over what she'll do with her $100,000 in prize money.
"My dream is to start a lingerie line," she says. "I will shop it to little boutiques and promote it on my website, dalenekurtis.com. I want to design cute and simple lingerie, because I'm dainty and I like flowers, bows and pink--you know, the basic goofy girl stuff! I've also been busting my ass taking acting and improv classes. I want to be a host on the Travel Channel or E." Should Brooke Burke, the host of E's Wild On, be looking over her bronzed shoulder? "I want her job so bad I can taste it!" Dalene shouts as she switches lanes. "I've been working on my reel tape. I want to be able to walk confidently into any audition and know what the hell I'm doing."
As Dalene merges into life's fast lane, what kind of man can keep up with her? "Whatever I've been looking for isn't working," she says, laughing. "I'm usually drawn to bad boys, but what I really want is a guy who's supportive of whatever decisions I make. Being independent is a threat to some guys. I want someone to love me for me--goofiness and all!"
Dalene responds to as much fan mail as she can, but national tragedy prevented her from giving a heartfelt thank-you to her admirers. "I'm so thankful to everyone who voted for me, because I wouldn't be here right now without them," she says. "After September 11 and the anthrax scare, we weren't able to open fan mail for a while. But on New Year's, a girl approached me in Vegas and said, 'I saw you in my boyfriend's Playboy and I voted for you!' It was so flattering--she made my night. I'll always remember being back in Bakersfield, sitting behind that insurance-company desk eight hours a day. I'm glad I've had a normal nine-to-five job, because it makes me love this even more."
See more of Dalene at cyber. playboy.com.
