Early life

Holly Madison was born in Astoria, Oregon, to Steve and Patsy Cullen. She has a younger brother named Joseph and a younger sister named Stephanie. Her father's work in the maritime shipping industry led her family to travel. At age 2, she lived with her family in Craig, Alaska, on Prince of Wales Island. When she was in middle school, her family returned to St. Helens Oregon. She later attended Portland State University for two years, majoring in both theater and psychology. Afterward, Madison moved to Los Angeles and attended 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. Although not a Playboy Playmate, she has appeared in nude pictorials with her Girls Next Door costars, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. She was named among the top Hooters girls of all time in 2008 as part of the restaurant's 25th anniversary. In 2009, she appeared as a contestant on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Madison has spoken openly about her cosmetic surgeries, having had both a rhinoplasty and breast augmentation. After the latter procedure, her bust measurements went from an A-cup to a D. In 2011, Madison announced that she had insured her breasts for $1 million.

Career

2003-2009: The Girls Next Door

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."

After The Girls Next Door

Dancing with the Stars

Madison was chosen to replace Jewel on Dancing with the Stars, after Jewel and Nancy O'Dell were forced to withdraw due to injuries sustained during rehearsal. She partnered with Dmitry Chaplin. On March 26, 2009, Robin Leach reported that Madison, too, had been injured while practicing, that she had been seen by a doctor and had received a prescription to treat severe rib pain. Said Madison, "I am committed to the show and my partner Dmitry. I will rest when it's possible. I fully hope and expect to dance on Monday." On the March 31, 2009 double elimination show, Holly and Dmitry were voted off.

World's largest bikini parade

In May 2009, Madison and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman led a Guinness World Record-breaking "largest bikini parade ever." According to the Las Vegas Sun, "The politician and the former Playboy play thing joined forces to usher in the city's summer swimsuit season..." in an event timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. The 281 parade participants broke the prior record of 250. The mark has subsequently been eclipsed by events in the Cayman Islands (331), Brisbane, Australia (357) and Panama City, Florida (450).

2009 - 2012: Peepshow

Madison starred in a topless burlesque show called Peepshow at Planet 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 due to the show's success it was eventually extended to a full year. Holly starred as both "Bo Peep" and "Goldilocks" for nearly 4 years, however in 2012 Holly left the show due to her pregnancy. She was replaced as "Bo Peep" by Coco Austin.

2009 - 2011: Holly's World

Madison starred in her own reality show, Holly's World, which revolved 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 ran for 2 successful seasons.

1923 Bourbon and Burlesque

In May 2014 Madison opened a speakeasy-themed club, 1923 Bourbon and Burlesque, at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas.

Down the Rabbit Hole

In 2015, her memoir Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny (ISBN 978-0-06-237210-9) was published. The book reveals exploits from living in the Playboy Mansion and discusses relationships with Hugh Hefner, Bridget Marquardt, and Criss Angel, among others. The book debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list, spending three weeks in the coveted spot and over three months on the list in 2015.

The Vegas Diaries

In May 2016, Holly released her second memoir The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice and the Road to Reinvention (ISBN 978-0-06-245705-9). The book chronicles her journey toward reinvention and self-acceptance in glamorous Las Vegas.

Personal life

During her time with Hugh Hefner, Madison stated that she wanted to marry him 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 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." Despite the breakup, all three girls committed to a sixth season of The Girls Next Door.

In 2009, Madison stated, "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 August 2012, Madison announced that she and Pasquale Rotella, whom she began dating in 2011, were expecting their first child together. Madison gave birth to their daughter, Rainbow Aurora Rotella, on March 5, 2013 in Las Vegas. Madison and Rotella were married at Disneyland on September 10, 2013 and reside in Las Vegas. In January 2016, Madison announced that she was expecting the couple's second child, due in August.

Filmography

Film

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	The Last Broadcast	Miss Lady Bright Eyes
2006	Scary Movie 4	Blonde # 1
2008	The House Bunny	Herself
2009	The Telling	Stephanie
2015	Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!	Lieutenant Harrison

Television

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	MTV Cribs	Herself	1 episode
2003	The Surreal Life	Herself	Episode: "The Wedding and Goodbye"
	Doggy Fizzle Televizzle	Herself	Episode: 4
2004	The Sharon Osbourne Show	Herself	1 episode
	The Bernie Mac Show	Bunny	Episode: "The Talk"
	Viva La Bam	Herself	Episode: "Drive-Way Skate Park"
2005	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Herself	Season 5 Episode 6 - "The Smoking Jacket"
	The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch	Herself	1 episode
2005	Entourage	Herself	Episode: "Aquamansion"
2005-2006	The Tyra Banks Show	Herself	2 episodes
2005-2009	The Girls Next Door	Herself	(seasons 1-5. 80 episodes)
2006	E! True Hollywood Story	Herself	Episode: "Hugh Hefner: Girlfriends, Wives and Centerfolds"
	Amazon Fishbowl	Herself	1 episode
	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Herself	Uncredited, 2 episodes
	Robot Chicken	Herself (Voice)	Episode: "Drippy Pony"
	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Herself	1 episode
2007	Keeping Up with the Kardashians	Herself	Episode: "Birthday Suit"
	Phenomenon	Herself	Episode: Three
	Last Call with Carson Daly	Herself	1 episode
2008	Today	Herself	1 episode
	Celebrity Family Feud	Herself	Episode: "Vincent Pastore vs. The Girls Next Door"
	Living Lohan	Herself	Episode: "The Billionaire Babysitters"
	Chelsea Lately	Herself	1 episode
2009	Dancing with the Stars	Contestant	(Season 8, eliminated 3rd round)
2009-2010	Kendra	Herself	2 episodes
2009-2011	Holly's World	Herself	(Seasons 1-2. 19 Episodes)
2010	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Hot Blonde	Episodes: "Pool Shark"
2010	When I Was 17	Herself	1 episode
2013	"Holly Has a Baby"!	Herself	E! Special
2015	"Redwood Kings"	Herself	1 episode

Charities

Holly Madison supports the following charitable cause: Cancer.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]