A month after Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s death, Jenny McCarthy is opening up about her favorite memory of him.
According to the Daily Mail, during Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live, McCarthy answered a fan question, reminiscing of when she first got started in the business and how Hugh Hefner discovered her and helped launch her career.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Up Next: Pamela Anderson Says Goodbye to Hugh Hefner in Tearful Video
McCarthy spoke about her experience auditioning to be centerfold on Playboy, recalling the grueling 5-day process of having to maintain a single pose and how Hefner was so horrified by her face that he told her, “You looked like you hit a deer with your car. You look so horrified!”
He encouraged her to go home and practice her centerfold face and promised her one more chance at the audition.
McCarthy managed to seal the deal and appeared centerfold in Playboy‘s October 1993 issue, going on to be named Playmate of the Year in 1994. Her career would span into movies, starring in Scary Movie and appearing on television shows like Two and a Half Men. She was also one of the hosts on ABC’s The View.
More: Who Will Inherit Hugh Hefner’s Multi-Million Dollar Fortune?
Shortly after Hefner’s death, McCarthy candidly spoke of him on her SiriusXM program, “The Jenny McCarthy Show.”
“I wanted one more chance to just say thanks. Thanks, and thank you for sharing your dream with me – and for giving so many girls and so many people an opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. “There’s always those people in your life that change the course of your life, and I think about how many people he affected just through me alone. Every tear that I cry, is really out of gratitude.”
Most Viewed
-

L-R: Todd Lasance as AFP Liaison Officer Sergeant Jim 'JD' Dempsey, Olivia Swann as NCIS Special Agent Captain Michelle Mackey, Sean Sagar as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, Tuuli Narkle as AFP Liaison Officer Constable Evie Cooper and William McInnes as Forensic Pathologist Dr. Roy Penrose in NCIS: Sydney episode 9, season 3 streaming on Paramount+, 2025. Photo Credit: Daniel Asher Smith/Paramount+ -

JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. ET and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Tuesday, June 10 included Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes ("SmartLess"), Bella Ramsey ("The Last of Us"), and musical guest HARDY. (Disney/Randy Holmes) SEAN HAYES, JASON BATEMAN, WILL ARNETT (Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)






