The Official Jennifer Lavoie Web Site

I was born in Nashua, New Hampshire on February 25, 1971, exactly 13 months after my brother. My parents nicknamed me "funny face" when I was little because I was always making strange faces. I also cried a lot as a youngster. People would come up to me, smile, say hello and give me a kiss on the cheek and I would start crying. Thankfully that ended when I was about….sixteen.

My brother and I loved playing outdoors. We lived in a woodsy area and had the coolest yard. In the front of our house we had lots of trees and woods where we would run around with big sticks and yell 'hunga bunga". Don't ask me what that means because I don't have a clue. In the backyard we had four huge trees side by side. My brother had a rope ladder that he would play on, and I had rings. I remember we once buried a few of our favorite toys near those trees and never dug them up. I sometimes wonder if they are still there. There was a little brook on the side of our house that we would play in, finding all kinds of interesting animals to bring home and show my mom. One time we caught a raccoon and made a huge cage for him and kept him in our garage. That didn't last long, when he ate through the cage and escaped. I guess he wasn't thrilled with eating just crackers. We always had a dog though. My dad had a habit of bringing home strays, which didn't seem to make my mom very happy.

We lived in that house until I was about 8 years old and then my parents divorced. I later found out that almost every family on that street got divorced. That was the one time in my life that I seemed to block out. No one likes their parents getting divorced but as I got older, I realized that it was the best thing for them. It was difficult to spend time with both parents, going back and forth but I was able to adjust.

I loved school and all my friends so when we had to move to another town (only 10 miles away), I was not very happy. Again, I learned to adjust and made some great friends in my new school. I was able to continue gymnastics, which was something I had been doing since I was 4 years old. It was my only passion and one that I continued with for the next thirteen years. Of course not without a few bumps in the road.

Once when I was twelve years old, I was sitting underneath our breakfast bar on the floor playing Miss Pac-man. I got up suddenly and smacked my lower back on the overhang of the counter. It hurt a lot, but I didn't think anything of it. The next day I stayed home from school and my friends came by to say hello. We were hanging out in the living room and for some stupid reason I did a back handspring. I couldn't move. I tried walking upstairs to get some aspirin, but couldn't walk. My friends called 911 and an ambulance came to take me to the hospital. Come to find out I had crushed all of my lumbar vertebrae. They brought the X-Rays in to show my mom and it looked like tiny particles floating around in my lower back. The doctors didn't want to operate so I ended up wearing a brace from my hips to my neck for about 2-3 months. I was really depressed because I couldn't do gymnastics. There really wasn't a whole lot I could do. My doctor had advised me to quit the sport and said that if I damaged my back again, it was likely that I would become paralyzed. Being a typical hard-headed girl, I continued with the sport once my back had healed.

While living with my mom until I was sixteen, we moved quite a lot. During my freshman and sophomore years I went to school in Massachusetts. Although I made some great friends, I desperately missed the kids I had grown up with. I told my mom I wanted to move with my Dad, who lived in NH. That decision devastated her. Although it was difficult for a year, it was the best choice I could have made. My relationship with my mom grew stronger, because we didn't fight all the time. As I grew older, we became best friends. I learned a lot from her, and most of who and what I am today, I learned from my parents. The fact that my dad was raising four other siblings meant that I couldn't have everything I wanted. That was something I was thankful to learn and respect. It made me appreciate the things I had.

My dad was very happy to have me move in with him. He and my step mom found a home in the town I grew up in, so I could go back to school with my old classmates. I was so excited and grateful that I could go back to a familiar place. I still remember my first day back at school. What am I going to wear? How am I going to do my hair? Will they still like me? God, it was a stressful week. Once I got there, everyone made me feel at home and I couldn't have asked for a better junior and senior year. As far as my academics went, I enjoyed school, but if I had to do it all over again I would have applied myself more. My grades were good and I stayed out of trouble. I never got into the drug and alcohol scene, but of course I thought smoking cigarettes was a cool thing to do. Now just the thought of it grosses me out.

As much as I enjoyed school I knew in the back of my mind that I didn't want to go to college. I worked in a pizza place and a pharmacy when I was younger, not sure what I would do after I graduated. That's when I got a job at Lerner, a retail store for women. I loved the atmosphere and loved clothes so it was a perfect fit for me. My parents had mentioned that I would have to pay room and board if I wasn't going to college. Being eighteen, I wasn't thrilled about that idea, so I decided to find a roommate and move out. I lived with my assistant manager from Lerner. That was a great learning experience for me. I realized that not living with your parents was very expensive. I remember calling my mom more than a couple of times to ask her if she could buy me some groceries.

Working at Lerner wasn't quite paying the bills I was racking up, so I decided to enter a swimsuit contest at a local nightclub that my friends and I went to on the weekends. The first one I entered I won, and continued entering and winning every weekend. It was a great experience that boosted my confidence and helped pay the bills. I became more comfortable with my body and myself, which helped in every aspect of my life.

Recruiters from the retail store 5-7-9 kept coming in to Lerner and asking me to apply for a job at their store. I was only eighteen at the time and they offered me an assistant manager position. I was thrilled and accepted their offer. I have to say that this was the perfect job for me. It was hard work, long hours, and not so great pay, but I learned a lot about business and I feel that everything I learned there helped me to become the business- woman that I am today. I quickly went from assistant manager to manager, angering many fellow employees on my way up. I was only nineteen and had people in their twenties and thirties working below me. Some were upset but learned to accept my management skills and we all ended up being a happy family. I was well known in the mall as the girl in heels that catches all the shoplifters. I had a knack for apprehending shoplifters and I would literally chase them down the mall wearing my mini skirt and high heels. I actually thought of becoming a police officer, but decided they probably wouldn't approve of this outfit (see photo below). 5-7-9 decided to put me in one of their more high theft stores to try and turn things around. I enjoyed working in this store. My employees were nice and the store had a fun atmosphere. I quickly turned the store around, which made my boss pretty happy.

One day at work I received a phone call from a photographer in New York City asking if he could photograph me for him portfolio. About twenty minutes in to the conversation he mentioned the word 'nudes' and I politely declined his offer. He was rather persistent, and after a couple more phone calls I asked my mom what she thought. To my surprise she said I should do it. But, she didn't want me going to NY alone, so she went with me.

The photos we shot were really pretty and artistic. After the first day, the photographer made a comment that I should send the photos in to Playboy Magazine. I had never thought about becoming a Centerfold but ended up sending the photos in anyway. I went home thinking nothing would come out of that photo shoot.

I worked a lot for Playboy in the first few years, doing promotions and traveling all over the country. It was a great experience, but after about five years of promotions I was ready to try something new. That's when Playmate Danelle Folta called me up and asked me if I wanted to enter an off road triathlon with her and a friend of hers. She knew I was athletic and I figured it was something I could handle. I trained for a few months and for three years we entered races as The Playboy X-Treme Team. It was so much fun and very rewarding. It was such a different atmosphere from doing autograph shows and promotions. We were athletic Playmates that competed in races. That was a whole new thing for Playboy. Adventure racing is now a part of my life. We competed in the Eco Challenge Borneo in August of 2000 and that was the most rewarding thing I could have done for my career. (For the complete story and photos of the Eco, check out the Extreme section in the VIP area.)

I started my website several years ago and really enjoy interacting with fans on a daily basis. One of the biggest compliments I get is how pleased people are at the quick response they get from me when emailing. I take pride in knowing that I am 100% involved with my site.

2006 has been a busy year for me. I started a new company with a friend of mine. We manufacture fabric plant hangers. You can find more info on our site at www.primitiveplanters.com. Here's a photo of one of my hangers...

I'm really looking forward to 2007 and all the fun things that will be coming my way. Check back here for updates. Weekly journal updates can be found in my members section.