Victoria Silvstedt

A Swedish bombshell, Victoria Silvstedt achieved global celebrity as a model, singer, actress and television hostess. Born Sept. 19, 1974 in Skelleftehamn, Västerbottens Iän, Sweden, Karen Victoria Silvstedt was a teenage member of the Swedish National Ski Team until an injury curtailed her sports career. She rebounded when her mother and sister secretly entered her into the Miss Sweden 1993 competition. Winning the title, Silvstedt then became a finalist in the Miss World 1993 pageant, which buoyed her to an international modeling career. Silvstedt proved an irresistible prospect; Playboy named her its December 1996 Playmate of the Month and then 1997 Playmate of the Year and Guess? named her its face for 1998. After releasing her 1999 album Girl on the Run, which became a European success, the statuesque beauty also began booking acting jobs, including roles on "Melrose Place" (Fox, 1992-99) and in the films "Beach Movie" (1998), "Out Cold" (2001) and "Boat Trip" (2002). Frequently cast as a luscious ski bunny, Silvstedt earned a more substantial role on the Swedish/American soap opera "Ocean Ave." (syndicated, 2002-03) as a homicide detective who falls prey to the serial killer she is tailing. While she continued to act occasionally, including notching a cameo as a Ferrari driver in the Vanessa Paradis romantic comedy "Heartbreaker" (2010), Silvstedt found the most success in modeling and hosting work, including landing her own reality show, "Victoria Silvstedt: My Perfect Life" (E!, 2008).