Teri Harrison is the product of two different cultures, but the 21-year-old Florida native relishes her diversity. "My mom is Japanese and my father is German," she says. "I have six sumo wrestler-looking uncles and a tiny Japanese grandmother, so I stick out like a Q-Tip in family pictures. Sushi and bratwurst—that's my life!" Teri moved out of her mother's home when she was 14 and soon started modeling. "I was a horrible child," she confesses, "but now my mom brags about everything I do, and we're much closer." Teri briefly studied psychology at a local college. "It made me feel whacked out. I didn't know myself at that point, and certainly wasn't able to figure out anyone else," she says. She then moved with her boyfriend, a Kansas City Royals player, to the Midwest. She hated it. "It is inhumane to be in an environment that is 120 degrees in the summer with 100 percent humidity," she says. "I even saw a freaking tornado across the street from my house!"
Now Miss October is enjoying the climate in southern California and the attentions of a new boyfriend. "I'm really into the whole rock-and-roll look," she says. "My boyfriend, Rob, has a goatee, blue eyes and black hair—nice. I want to take him out on the ocean in a yacht, have dinner and some Cristal and ... I won't tell you what else. I know I'll end up asking him to marry me, because when I want something, I want it!" Teri hopes that being in Playboy will open the door to new career opportunities. "I would love to host a Wild On type of show," she says. "Traveling helps people grow by enabling them to experience new things. It's important to let readers know that Playboy isn't something I'm doing just because I can. I really enjoy being photographed, but I want people to get to know me and to see how beautiful a person can be on the inside and on the outside."
Playmate Data Sheet
Name:Teri Marie Harrison
Bust: 34
Waist: 26
Hips: 33
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 117
Birth Date: 2-16-81
Birthplace: Beadenton, FL
Ambitions: To host a national television show, and to become a total beach bum!
Turn-Ons: Stability, a man who can watch a girly flick with me, Rock-and-Roll music, baby!
Turnoffs: Bad taste in shoes. Dishonesty and—most inportant—insecurity!
My Dream Travel Destination: I Would love to hop the South pacific islands, starting at Fiji.
Five CDS I can't live without: Madonna, Pearl Jam, Chronic 2001, Jack Johnson and, of course, the best artists in the world, Incubus!
The TV shows I Never Miss: That'70s show, the Jamie Kennedy Eyperiment and the L.A Lakers!
The Next President should be: Snaq Daddy! can y'all dig it?
There are more photos, plus video, of Teri at cyber.playboy.com.
"I want to learn to play the guitar," says Teri. "It would take a while, but it would be a lot of fun and would mean so much to me. I have a really deep voice, and people tell me to shut up when I sing Mariah Carey-like songs. I'm probably the only chick who enjoys singing a Led Zeppelin cover song."
"I have always been a tomboy and I love doing silly, off-the-wall things," says Teri. "The funniest part of this shoot was when we used Michael Bolton's Prada shirts and suits in some of the shots. I hope he knows about it! Our stylist is good friends with him, and I was wriggling around in Michael's suits the entire 10 hours of doing this setup. It was a killer!"
