For many, posing for Playboy is the culmination of a dream. For September 2017 Playmate of the Month Jessica Wall, it was practically happenstance. Jessica sat down with us to discuss her Playboy stint, why there are always ice cubes on shoots, and why shooting nude is something everyone ought to try once.
Playboy: What was your origin story with Playboy?
Jessica Wall: Originally, I’m from Chicago. I moved to New York to model, then my agency kind of flipped a coin and sent me to LA. Then I got a message from my agency and they’re like, “My gosh, Playboy would love to do a shoot with you.” I was like, “Me? Playboy? Okay. I’m down. Let’s do it.”
And then I was like, “What was it?” My agency said, “You have to go into Playboy and talk to them.” And I thought it was a casting. But they’re like, “Hey, you’re gonna be a Playmate.” So that was a very fun surprise.
Playboy: How did that feel? Because most people they try their hardest to be picked and you just sort of fell into it.
Jessica: It’s pretty consistent with every modeling experience I’ve had. Because I never expected to get into modeling and it ended up just being something I fell into. And ended up being good at because I fell in love with movement in front of the camera. I think the thing that was the most exciting was when I started working with Playboy and specifically for the centerfold shoot. Everyone over there is so sweet is so nice. The creativity was off the charts. It was just like, “My gosh!”
Playboy: What was the theme of your shoot?
Jessica: It was nostalgic ’80s music-inspired moments from vintage movies. At one point I was holding a boombox above my head. Yeah, it was pretty entertaining, and at the time I was dating a guy in music. Sounds like my worlds are colliding.
Playboy: Do you resonate with the ’80s and the music and the vibe?
Jessica: Yeah, full on crazy outfits, music that makes you want to dance and move…100 percent.
Playboy: And how was the overall shooting experience?
Jessica: I had way too much fun. The photographer—he was so good. My goodness. I got to learn that to make nipples perky, you use ice cubes. So they would would give me ice cubes and be like, “Here, this is for nipples.” Things you get to learn during a shoot are pretty amazing. I’m actually still friends with a lot of people—and I’ve done multiple shoots—with a lot of people from that initial Playboy shoot. So it’s really cool to also become friends and develop more creatively.”
Playboy: Did you become friends with other Playmates?
Jessica: My girlfriend, Milan, was the October Playmate, so I already knew her. I met friends at a bunch of different events. I had a Playboy superfan reach out to me on Instagram and he was like, “My God, I would love to hire you. I’m hiring a couple of Playmates to be at my birthday party on New Year’s Eve.” And I thought, “Okay, this sounds sketch. But okay, I’ll pass you along to my agent.” And he ended up booking me along with I think two or three other girls.
But one of the girls at that party, her name is Jordan, and she was actually the last official Playmate of the Year when they were doing that. Her and I have become very good friends. There’s another playmate…Ashley. She’s so cute. I’m obsessed with her. And we unexpectedly ended up doing a short film together.
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Playboy: What are you passionate about?
Jessica: I am an artist. I do giant abstract oil paintings. And my babies, they ripped themselves out of my brain, my soul, and man, I put them on canvas. So it’s a large section of what I’m passionate about. I’ve got five younger siblings, so I’m very passionate about reaching out to younger generation and letting them know that there are opportunities out there, and that the world is big.
And yes, it might be scary. But at the end of the day you can make your life whatever you want it to be. You don’t have to do the set plan that, society wants you to do. You can have life that’s a little bit sideways. Decide you want to be a Playmate!
Playboy: Have younger generations imparted any lessons to you?
Jessica: I was primary care for my younger sister. She had some medical stuff going on and I was her primary care for eight months. And one of the biggest takeaways I had from that was that I was so purposeful and protective about the space around her. Yes, it was a terrible situation, and she was in a lot of pain, and everything.
But also, every day’s getting better, we’re working on things. We’re not gonna sit here, be like, “This is terrible, it’s just hard. I can’t accomplish this.” We have to be working hard every single day and putting a large dose of optimism out there. Make sure we’re really celebrating the small wins.
Playboy: What is your career outside of being a Playmate?
Jessica: I love creating. I’ve also been modeling for 13 years at this point. So I’ve done runways in New York, Good Morning America, Cosmopolitan, Calvin Klein. I’ve even been on a Billboard on Sunset Blvd. But the throughline In all the different things I’ve done…it’s the stories that I collect. People, places, and experiences about how much fun the journey is.
Playboy: What does being a Playmate mean to you?
Jessica: I take it as an opportunity to share with people [that], one, you don’t have to sexualize everything just because someone’s naked. I think shooting nude is one of the most powerful and kind things you can do for yourself. Only because when you shoot nude, you have to believe completely that you’re the hottest thing in the world.
You’re the most beautiful version of yourself. If you’re like, “I don’t like my shoulders. I don’t like my tummy. I don’t like my ass,” or whatever. It might be that shows through in the photos. When I go into a shoot, I’m going into space, and I’m going to love every single part of myself today. Doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
So that practice, and that conversation around. Shooting nude can be amazing and it can be a wild, crazy experience that maybe you’ll enjoy. Maybe you won’t!
But it’s a conversation about self-confidence, self-love, and holding space for other women who maybe aren’t as confident or have never tried shooting nude, or haven’t really experimented with their sexuality. You want to come hang out? This is a safe place. It’s really cool over here. You don’t have to do everything, but if you like, you can put on this cute outfit with the Playboy bunny on it.
Read more features with Playmates here.
