Kendra Leigh Wilkinson (born June 12, 1985 in San Diego, California) is an American television personality and glamour model. She is best known for her role on the E! reality series The Girls Next Door as Hugh Hefner's third girlfriend after Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt.
Biography
Wilkinson is the older of two children. Her mother, Patti, was originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and had been a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. Her father, Eric, left her family when she was four. Wilkinson grew up in Clairemont, a middle-class community in central San Diego, and attended Clairemont High School, from which she graduated in 2003. She played softball for six years with the Clairemont Bobby Sox.1 When she left high school she began working as a glamour model, and also briefly worked as an office assistant for a dentist.
Career
Wilkinson met Hugh Hefner at his 78th birthday party in April 2004, where she had been hired to be one of the "painted girls": women who are completely nude except for painted-on accessories. He had apparently seen her picture, shot by photographer Kim Riley, on a fax machine at the Playboy Mansion and wanted to know who she was. Shortly after they met, Hefner asked Wilkinson to be one of his girlfriends and he moved her into the Playboy Mansion. Wilkinson has made several cameos on different programs such as Las Vegas and Entourage. She also appeared in Akon's music video "Smack That". While on the set of the video, Eminem poured a bottle of water on her head, sparking an altercation. The incident was discussed on The Girls Next Door.2 She also showed her creative side as a rapper on MTV's Celebrity Rap Superstar which debuted on August 30, 2007. Wilkinson rapped to Ludacris’ "Fantasy", in response to the question asked by the show's host, "Can Kendra move her mouth as fast as she moves her booty?".3 She went on to take second place, losing to Shar Jackson.
Wilkinson's stated career goal is to become a massage therapist or sports announcer. In December 2005, she became a regular "blogger" columnist at the website of the Philadelphia Eagles,4 a team for which her mother had been a professional cheerleader.5
She's featured on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door, which follows the lives of Hefner's current girlfriends. Wilkinson lives in her own room in Hefner's mansion with her dogs, Raskal and Martini. In 2006, she appeared in the Playboy Special Editions Sexy 100.
In 2007, she appeared in Nickelback's music video of "Rockstar", along with Girls Next Door co-stars, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt.
Personal life
Wilkinson owns two dogs, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Raskal and a Jack Russell named Martini.
On August 13, 2008, the Wall Street Journal front page reported that Wilkinson was the Italian restaurant chain Olive Garden's "Biggest Celebrity Fan". She, it was noted, has described Olive Garden's cuisine as "my soul food". The newspaper emphasized that her repeated enthusiastic public endorsements of the family restaurant are genuine, personal and are not tied to any payment from Olive Garden. In fact, the company was reported as viewing Wilkinson's endorsements with "mixed feelings" which it was reluctant to comment on.6
On September 22, 2008, the International Business Times reported that Wilkinson was engaged to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett.7 Wilkinson denied being engaged in a blog entry on her official MySpace page,8 but on October 7, 2008, in an interview on Chelsea Lately, admitted she was in a relationship with Baskett.910 On November 6, 2008, E! Online announced Wilkinson and Baskett were engaged, after he proposed the previous Saturday, with a wedding planned for June 2009.1112
Filmography
Films
TV appearances
References
- ^ League Member information - San Diego - Clairemont Girls Fastpitch Softball League
- ^ "Eminem is a Meanie Yo!". TMZ.com (2006-08-30). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ "Rock Reality Show Recap: Twista Schools the Novices on "Celebrity Rap Superstar"". Rolling Stone (2007-10-05). Retrieved on 2007-10-08.
- ^ Eagles Sign Up Playboy Bunny As Blogger - Sports News Story - WCAU | Philadelphia
- ^ Philadelphia Weekly, December 2005
- ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121857145147234237.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone "When You're Here, You're Family -- But What About a Playboy Model", by Rebecca Dana, Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008, page A1
- ^ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080922/playboy-kendra-wilkinson-dating-hank-baskett.htm
- ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=1557158&blogID=435159848
- ^ eonline.com (October 7, 2008). "Chelsea Lately: Kendra Wilkinson". Retrieved on October 8, 2008.
- ^ eonline.com (October 8, 2008). "Hugh Hefner on Holly: It's Over!". Retrieved on October 8, 2008.
- ^ People.com (November 6, 2008). "The Girls Next Door's Kendra Wilkinson Engaged to NFL Star". Retrieved on November 6, 2008.
- ^ eonline.com (November 6, 2008). "Hef Gives His Blessing to Kendra!". Retrieved on November 6, 2008.
External links
![Image <b>...</b> Next Door" star <b>Kendra Wilkinson</b> <b>...</b> Picture](/viewImage.html?title=<b>Kendra</b>-<b>Wilkinson</b>-500x683-40kb-media- ...&summary=<b>...</b> Next Door" star <b>Kendra Wilkinson</b> <b>...</b>&link=http://www.perfectpeople.net/photo-picture-image-media/Kendra-Wilkinson-500x683-40kb-media-3121-media-122559-1189254336.jpg&thumb=http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:8XXL9eDJEpLJ2M:www.perfectpeople.net/photo-picture-image-media/Kendra-Wilkinson-500x683-40kb-media-3121-media-122559-1189254336.jpg&celebrity=Kendra Wilkinson)
