God Blessing Us!: Biography of Holly Madison

Holly Madison born December 23, 1978 is an American Model and television personality, best known for appearing as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends on the reality television series The Girls Next Door. Although not a Playboy Playmate, she has appeared in nude pictorials with her Girls Next Door costars, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. In 2009, she appeared as a contestant on the Eighth Season of Dancing with the Stars.

Early life

Madison was born Hollin Sue Cullen in Astoria, Oregon. She has one younger sister, Stephanie, and a younger brother, Joe; both of whom were featured on season 3 and season 4 episodes of "The Girls Next Door." Her father's work in the Timber Industry led her family to travel. From ages two through eleven, she lived on Prince of Wales Island, near Ketchikan, Alaska. Her family later moved back to Oregon, this time to St. Helens. She attended Portland State University for two years, majoring in both theater and psychology.
In 1999, Madison moved to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount University.

To afford college tuition, she competed to become a Hawaiian Tropic model and worked at Hooters. Madison's appearance at these venues led to invitations to Hefner's Playboy Mansion. After more than a year of such visits, Madison was invited to move in. She became one of Hefner's seven official girlfriends in August 2001. In February 2002, after all but two of his girlfriends left, Madison became Hefner's "#1 Girl" and moved into his bedroom. She was named among the top Hooters girls of all time in 2008 as part of the restaurant's twenty-fifth anniversary.
Madison has spoken openly about her cosmetic surgeries, having had both a rhinoplaty and breast augmentation. After the latter procedure, her bust measurements went from an A-cup to a D. She also once had a red Playboy Bunny logo tattooed on her lower back but later had it removed.

Career

In 2003, Madison was the subject of a Playboy Cyber Girl of the Week pictorial on the magazine's website. She also appeared on the cover and inside of the November 2005 issue of Playboy, along with Marquardt and Wilkinson, as part of a special pictorial promoting The Girls Next Door. The women were featured again on the covers of the September 2006, March 2008, and February 2009 issues.
In the Season 3 episode "Girls Next Door," Madison stated that she wanted to have a career producing Playboy spreads. During seasons three and four, Madison was shown working at the Playboy studios as an intern and later a junior photo editor. She also helped design and put together The Girls Next Door 2008 calendar.
A self-described animal lover, Madison started writing articles about pets in 2006 for a friend's quarterly magazine, The Coolest Little Pet Magazine. In April 2007, Madison was featured nude in a PETA advertisement, with the tagline "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur".
In February 2009, she quit working for the company altogether due to the split from Hefner making her position "awkward".
In 2009, Madison attempted a Guinness World Record rallying women from all over Las Vegas to hold the World's "largest bikini parade ever," winning the title.
Madison was chosen to replace Jewel Kilcher on Dancing with the Stars after Kilcher was forced to withdraw (along with Nancy O'Dell) due to injuries sustained during rehearsal. She partnered with Dmitry Chaplin. On March 31, 2009 Holly and Dmitry were voted off the show in a double elimination episode.
Madison stars in topless burlesque show Peepshow at lanet Hollywood in Las Vegas. She was brought in to replace Kelly Monaco after Monaco's three month contract was up. Madison was likewise initially signed to a three month contract, but she has since extended her contract to a full year.
Like former The Girls Next Door co-star, Kendra Wilkinson, Madison stars in her own reality show, Holly's World, which revolves around her life at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. "It's all good-natured and not mean like other reality shows," Madison said of her show. "I'm really excited about the new series because I am also getting a legitimate co-producer credit for all the work I do behind the camera. It's not a vanity credit. I'm super excited to learn from the best and take on new responsibilities." The show premiered with a "preview episode" on December 6, 2009, and it started airing regularly in June 2010.

Personal life

In the past, Madison has stated that she wanted to marry Hefner and have his children. During an interview at the Playmate of the Year luncheon in May 2008, Hefner stated, "I love Holly very much and I think we’re going to be together the rest of my life, but marriage isn’t part of my puzzle. It’s not a personal thing; I just haven’t had much luck with marriages."
On October 7, 2008, Madison announced in a video posted on TMZ.com that her relationship with Hefner had ended, but that she, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson are "still filming stuff together." Hugh Hefner confirmed the breakup stating that, "If Holly says it's over, I guess it's over." Hefner also confirmed that all three girls are committed to a sixth season of The Girls Next Door, and that he plans to find new live-in girlfriends.

In November 2008, Madison began dating illusionist Criss Angel, but the relationship ended in February 2009. Madison was interviewed by People on March 4, 2009, stating "I'm never dating anybody again. I don't need a man. I'm really happy with myself and being with my friends...I'm focused on forwarding my career. I'm working on producing my own shows. Girls Next Door was a great place to start but it was somebody else's show. I'm just ready to move on." In the final episodes of Girls Next Door, which aired in February 2009, Madison made several references to the pending breakup with Hefner. In December 2009, she began dating Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden, but this romance ended in January 2010. In July 2010, Madison began dating All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat. She was interviewed on December 9, 2010, stating "It’s just a case of having fun together and not thinking about the future.”