Kendra Wilkinson
6.6
9 votes
Astrological Zodiac sign: Gemini
Age: 27
Kendra Leigh Wilkinson is an American model and reality television participant, best known as one of the three live-in girlfriends of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
Kendra Wilkinson was born in San Diego, California. She is the elder of two children; her younger brother is Colin. 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. Her grandmother is named Mary. 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.
Wilkinson met Hugh Hefner at his 78th birthday party in April 2004, where she was hired to be one of the "painted girls" (women who are nude except for painted-on accessories). Hefner 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 along with her dogs Raskal and Martini.
She was featured on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door, which follows the lives of Hefner's current girlfriends. She moved out of the Playboy Mansion in 2009 and has filmed her own spin-off reality show for E!. It will follow her in her new life living alone, planning her wedding, etc.
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. 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. Wilkinson, along with Madison and Marquardt, played a cameo role in the 2006 film Scary Movie 4. 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?". 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 a team for which her mother had been a professional cheerleader and her fiance plays for.
E! is set to launch a spinoff to its Playboy-themed "Girls Next Door" featuring Kendra Wilkinson. "Kendra" will focus on Wilkinson's life after leaving the Playboy Mansion and getting engaged to Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett. The Comcast-owned cabler has ordered eight episodes of the series, which will premiere on Sunday, June 7."Kendra" premiered on June 7 2009, and had record breaking numbers for E!. The new show was the highest-rated reality debut for the network since 2002's premiere of The Anna Nicole Show. "Kendra" pulled in 2.6 million viewers for the series premier. The Girls Next Door executive producer Kevin Burns will serve in the same capacity on the series.
On August 13, 2008, the Wall Street Journal front page reported that she was the Italian restaurant chain Olive Garden's "Biggest Celebrity Fan". Wilkinson 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 since the restaurant's reputation is family friendly.
According to an episode of The Girls Next Door, she lost her virginity at 14.
On September 22, 2008, the International Business Times reported that Wilkinson was engaged to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett. Wilkinson denied being engaged in a blog entry on her official MySpace page, but on October 7, 2008, in an interview on Chelsea Lately, admitted she was in a relationship with Baskett. On November 6, 2008, E! Online announced Wilkinson and Baskett were engaged, after he proposed the previous Saturday at the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. Although, it was initially announced that Hugh Hefner will give the bride away in a wedding ceremony to be celebrated at the Playboy Mansion on June 27, 2009, Wilkinson has since stated that she is having second thoughts about having Hefner walk her down the aisle.
On June 10, 2009 Wilkinson announced that she and fiance Hank Baskett are expecting their first child together.
See also: Model, American, Playboy, The Girls Next Door, Reality Show
