Playboy playmate Marsha Elle was not only Miss April 2020, but was also the first ever amputee playmate and was featured in the last printed issue of Playboy magazine. A true pandemic playmate, Marsha Elle shot her centerfold with photographer Ana Dias in Tulum, Mexico right before the world went into quarantine.
In this interview, the model and singer tells her story about life as an amputee, how she became a Playmate, her passion for motivational music, the sisterhood she’s taken away from the Playboy experience, and more.
Marsha Elle’s Playboy experience
Playboy: What’s your origin story with Playboy?
Marsha Elle: At the end of 2019, a very good mutual friend of mine, Jameela Jamil, knew the Playboy editor of the speech issue at the end of 2019—which was the issue that I was featured in. She reached out to me and said that she felt that I would do great, and put in the recommendation for a test shoot. It was just amazing because I’ve followed Playboy for years and I loved the concept behind that speech feature. I got placed with two amazing playmate sisters, and that’s pretty much how I was introduced to Playboy and become a Playmate.
Playboy: Tell us a little more, in your words, about Playboy’s speech issue.
Marsha Elle: The speech issue was in 2020 and was actually the last printed Playboy issue, so it’s sort of a piece of history. There’s so much literature in it, including the interview with Jameela—who is all about women empowerment and talked about what she believes in. She’s very outspoken with “radical” ideas about pro-reproductive rights as well. She put a lot about that in her conversation with Playboy.
I was the April 2020 playmate alongside some of my playmate sisters in May and June. My pictorial spread said: “Marsha Elle: A motivational speaker making history in these pages and far beyond. Join her as she lights up Tulum and tells her astonishing story.” I was able to tell my story and we shot it in Tulum, which was amazing.
Something that was very awesome was that I was able to choose my makeup artist. Playboy didn’t really have any makeup artists that did Black skin and they wanted me to feel comfortable, so they reached out to the artist of my choice and allowed me to bring them along. Even the fact that they simply thought of that made me feel even more comfortable. Ana Dias did my shoot and it was actually my favorite shoot that I’ve ever done. She was absolutely phenomenal, and made me feel so comfortable. I could not have asked for a better experience, really.
Playboy: Was this a nude centerfold?
Marsha Elle: Yes. No vagina, but yes, my boobs were shown.
Playboy: Tell us about being a pandemic Playmate.
Marsha Elle: So, I knew that I was going to do it at the end of 2019. We shot in March right at the very beginning of the pandemic. By the time we flew back, we were in quarantine. My issue came out in April 2020—so I am a true pandemic Playmate.
The experience was twofold. On one hand, there was also a lot of unrest. Playboy definitely did a good job about letting me speak about Black Lives Matter and also sharing my story virtually because everyone was at their homes. So, I was able to promote the issue from my home and I think that’s where I started going viral on social media, especially Tiktok, and and was able to integrate my Playboy experience. Of course everyone was home so everyone saw it, and it worked perfectly.
At that time, I was working a corporate job and since I was working from my when my issue came out, no one was there in person to say anything because I wasn’t going into the office. So that was awesome. And I feel like I was able to connect with a lot of people online during the issue release, which I don’t think I would have had as much time to do if I wasn’t sitting in quarantine for that year.
Her “day job”
Playboy: What was that transition like being a Playboy Playmate and also like having a “real” job simultaneously?
Marsha Elle: Well, for me, I’ve always been a free spirit with my art, my music, and my fashion. It has always been purpose-driven though, so that was always my priority. And that’s what makes me the happiest. So, I have to give kudos to everyone at my job, who were very supportive. They already knew. Well, they kind of knew, since I went viral a little bit before then, they kind of knew that I was different in a good way. I’ll never forget this: Fox had did an interview with me about Playboy and the VP of my company saw it and he was like, “I think I saw you on my Twitter feed…” and I was like, “Oh maybe. The one leg kind of gives it away.”
Playboy: What type of job were you working at?
Marsha Elle: I was a consultant in the legal space. It was cool—I was fresh out of college when I started it. It was interesting.
Her music career
Playboy: Tell us a little bit about your music and that part of your life.
Marsha Elle: Music has always been my passion. And, it has always been an interesting space for me because I’m different. There’s really not that many artists like myself. Not only am I an amputee, but my sound is a little different. It’s not atypical, but maybe unexpected for what my brand might look like. And so I’ve always kind of gone back to why I sing and try to motivate others. My sound is sort of pop contemporary and I am definitely my unique self.
I tried to break into different genres that never worked and tried to break into different rooms that didn’t work, and it was just uncomfortable at times. But as soon as I landed into my purpose and just started having fun with it, I started constantly being booked to do shows that I just love. I’m part of The Recording Academy now and we attended the Grammys this year, which was just great for the camaraderie. And I’m excited for my new project. It’s top secret, but it’s going to be really fun. We’re going to release it very, very soon with really good visuals. Now, this day and age, we have Tiktok and many other mediums to share music, so you just have to be committed to the process. And you know, that’s what I’ve done.
You can listen to both my first and second albums on Spotify and other streaming platforms now!
Playboy: Have you done any gigs recently?
Marsha Elle: My last few shows were amazing. I performed at Lincoln Center and it was a big event that the city puts on every summer for the city. I was booked to sing to children with neurodivergence, which is my heart. I love children with disabilities.
Life as an amputee
Playboy: If you’re comfortable, tell us about being an amputee. How that experience impacted your life in your life and influenced you in other areas?
Marsha Elle: Absolutely. Life as an amputee has always been somewhat of an uphill battle because I never saw anyone like myself. I grew up in Orlando and for years, up until the age of 16, I had never met another amputee. So, I always felt very alone. I felt ostracized often and had to hide my leg going to school.
I was a straight A student and my claim to fame was that I could sing. But, I had not grown into being confident until later on, especially culturally. I didn’t show my leg until the age of 23 when I released my second album. My mom wanted to protect me from the bullying and I still dealt with the bullying because I walk a little different.
Playboy: When did you feel the shift in your confidence really happen?
Marsha Elle: At the age of 16, for sure. I went to Salt Lake City in Utah to go to whitewater rafting with other amputees. My Care Coordinator from my hospital was like, “I think it would be really good for you to go to this camp,” so I went. I had never went on a plane domestically before at all, but I just went and for the first time, I felt like I had a community. When I found that that community, I wrote this song called unlimbited—I spelled it differently and the title has “limb” in the word because we really are “unlimbedted.” That community really gave me the confidence that I needed to explore life outside of that bubble I had in Orlando.
Playboy: So, it seems that your experience as an amputee really impacted your music.
Marsha Elle: Oh, yes lyrically. But, I didn’t show the world my prosthetic until my second album. It was still about five or six years after that song that I released my first album entitled “Champion.” But then when it was time for my second album, I was like, “I can’t be authentic if I’m hiding this integral part of my life—my leg—right?” So, that was the first time I showed myself with just my prosthetic and it was a much more vulnerable record. It did really well.
Playboy: Is that when you started getting into modeling?
Marsha Elle: Yes, I then started taking photos. I was modeling, and I was like, “I’m just going to do this so someone who looks like me or maybe has my condition knows that they’re beautiful.” And it was really about facing my fears. I never in a million years would have thought that doing that shoot a year later, Jada Pinkett Smith would repost it and that it would go viral. Or that I would then be published in all types of magazines and interviewed by publications like Playboy.
I just felt really close to the mission of representation and really following your dreams, as wild as they may seem. Growing up, I would go to talent auditions and mall casting things and never get it. But, I felt like since there’s no one that looks like me, it was important for me to start paying and taking my own photos to share. I thought to myself: “There’s no rules and nobody has really seen me, so let me just have fun with it and maybe someone will like it. And here we are with an amazing fan base and following that feels like a family. I think they are encouraged by the photos that we put out.
Playboy: How did you become an amputee?
Marsha Elle: I’m a congenital amputee. I was born with a condition where I was born with one leg shorter than the other—one of my legs just didn’t have a femur and was very, very small. At the age of 13, I had to have it amputated. After the surgery, I got a prosthetic and had to learn to walk again. So that was kind of the journey for me.
But, here I am now as the only amputee Playmate, which is historical and amazing.
The Playmate sisterhood
Playboy: What has the Playmate sisterhood experience been like for you?
Marsha Elle: It’s beautiful. When I went to New York, Savannah and I have gotten together and gone to a coffee shop. Every time I go to New York, I can run into Savannah, who was also in my my cohort. And Alicia and I actually just did Coachella together. We’re always together whenever I go to LA. So, I have sisters in LA and in New York. And KhrystyAna as well—she’s also in Miami and we did swim week together. And, I went to her show in New York. So, it’s really cool how they’re amazing models—they’re legitimate out there—yet they are still so down to earth. We really stay in touch and they are all so kind. I do appreciate the sisterhood that we got from this experience.
Playboy: What was the actual shoot experience like the day of your centerfold shoot in Tulum?
Marsha Elle: There weren’t any strict rules. They really wanted it to feel authentic, and I think you really feel that in the speech issue as well. They asked us where we felt most comfortable and since I’m a water baby from growing up in Florida, they knew they wanted to send me to Tulum.
I just remember that first day like it was yesterday. My makeup artist and I woke up, we had coffee, and were like, “Okay, we’re going to put this affirmation out there—we’re going to just have fun and we’re going to radiate.” And then she did my makeup and we went through the looks.
There were a lot of looks, and this was the first time I really got to choose my look. You know, sometimes you go and the brand already has your outfit ready for you. But, they brought so many options and so much wardrobe. They were like, “Marsha, what do you like?” It made me feel really connected with the production team, and they made us all feel so comfortable. We were on a private beach, which was so awesome. There was normally about four or five of us on set.
Playboy: What does female empowerment mean to you?
Marsha Elle: I’m excited to see what this new women empowerment angle to Playboy will look like. I feel like we put a lot of that into the speech issue and I think the world is going to embrace it. It’s much needed. Dealing with our new bodies, our post-pandemic bodies, at times can be a challenge. And, what fashion looks like now is not what it looked like before then in the industry just a few years ago. So, I’m excited to see what Playboy does.
Women empowerment definitely means breaking down that box society puts us in. It’s about letting people expand beyond that box. It requires a level of humility and just open mindedness. Especially through this process as a Playmate. Someone might see the brand Playboy and make assumptions about a Playmate without ever even opening up their issue to see them for who they are, meet them as people, or understand the plight of all the different models. Playboy does a really good job at sourcing their Playmates and hearing their stories of resilience and how they accept their bodies. They make this human experience better.
So, women empowerment is really about that sisterhood of acceptance and having someone to hold your hand or meet up for coffee in New York. That support is empowering.