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Several women athletes and sports figures posed for Playboy, but the available evidence does not support a verified list of “10 who were too late.” Nor does it establish that Hugh Hefner personally solicited or worked with every woman named. The clearest contemporaneous example is tennis player Ashley Harkleroad, who announced in 2008 that she had posed for the magazine.
What the record supports—and what it does not
A 2017 AS USA gallery named 18 women athletes and sports figures who had posed for Playboy. The list spans multiple sports and countries, but a retrospective gallery is not the same as issue-level documentation for each person. It also does not establish that Hefner personally approached, photographed, or worked with each subject.
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The phrase “too late” is not defined by the available sources. They do not identify a second group of ten or establish whether the phrase refers to people who died, declined an offer, missed an opportunity, or something else. Assigning it a meaning—and supplying names on that basis—would be speculation.
Women named in the 2017 gallery
AS USA’s gallery provides a useful roster of names, not a verified ranking or a complete historical census:
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- Swimming: Amanda Beard.
- Track and field: Amy Cuff.
- Jet skiing: Ana Paula Teixeira.
- Tennis: Ashley Harkleroad.
- Auto racing: Débora Rodrigues.
- Volleyball: Francesca Piccinini and Gabrielle Reece.
- Wrestling: Joanie Laurer, known as Chyna; Maria Kanellis; Rena Marlette Lesnar, known as Sable; and Torrie Wilson.
- Figure skating: Katarina Witt.
- Field hockey: Katharina Scholz.
- Fitness: Kiana Tom.
- Mixed martial arts: Latasha Marzolla.
- Boxing: Mia St John.
- Canoeing: Nicole Reinhardt.
- Judo: Romy Tarangul.
The gallery groups sports figures with different kinds of athletic careers. Its inclusion of a name is a lead for further verification, not by itself proof of the person’s precise role, the issue in which she appeared, or the circumstances of the appearance.
A contemporaneous account: Ashley Harkleroad
In a report carried by the Taipei Times on May 27, 2008, Agence France-Presse reported that Harkleroad announced during the French Open that she had posed for Playboy. She was 22 at the time, and the report said her pictures were scheduled for the magazine’s August edition. That identifies a specific archival issue, but does not establish its current availability.
Rank #2
AFP quoted Harkleroad describing how the opportunity arose: “I was just lying there in hospital for three weeks, and an offer came to me. I thought about it and it was something that I did. I’m proud of my body.” She also said: “I stay in shape and try to stay fit. I’m just trying to represent a female athlete and her body. That can be sexy too. It’s no big deal.”
The report said Harkleroad believed she was the first tennis player to pose for the magazine. That is her reported belief, not an independently verified record. The same article noted that swimmer Amanda Beard had posed before her. Serena Williams, responding to Harkleroad’s decision, said: “I’m happy for her if that’s what she wanted to do. It takes a lot of courage. And whether I’m courageous enough, I don’t know, but it’s great for someone to be so courageous and tough.” These are statements attributed in AFP’s 2008 report.
Rank #3
Posing, sports promotion, and athletic credentials are different things
A 1993 Los Angeles Times report described Playboy marketing Playmates through ski, running, and equestrian teams and sponsored events. That initiative should not be folded into a list of competitive athletes who posed for the magazine: taking part in a promotional team does not, on its own, establish elite or professional athletic status.
In that report, Sports Marketing Letter publisher Brian Murphy characterized the concept as: “It’s inevitable that someone would try to mix the two biggest male preoccupations in this country into one highly marketable package.” Charlotte Helmkamp, the magazine’s December 1982 centerfold, said: “We’re not just fluff. This should prove that we have real abilities beyond posing nude in magazines.” The story also reported that the Playmate running team captain finished the Los Angeles Marathon in 4 hours, 28 minutes; that is one reported finish, not a measure of the group as a whole.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How scholars have interpreted athlete pictorials
A 2020 scholarly study examined 14 women athletes who posed nude in Playboy between 1988 and 2012. Its authors argued that the magazine’s treatment of athletic women’s bodies repositioned them within conventional femininity and heterosexual norms. That is the authors’ interpretation of the material, not an uncontested description of every subject’s experience or motivation. The study’s defined period is also not a complete list of all athletes who appeared in the magazine.
Rank #4
Why the title’s second ten cannot be supplied responsibly
The first half of the title can be answered cautiously: sources name multiple women athletes and sports figures who posed for Playboy, and Harkleroad’s 2008 announcement was covered contemporaneously. The second half cannot be completed from the available evidence. No source establishes what “too late” means or names ten people who fit it, so a list would require inventing a premise or attributing an unverified missed opportunity to real people.
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