Background

Ethnicity: Hefner's mother was of Swedish descent, and his father had German and English ancestry.

Hefner was born on April 9, 1939 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the first child of Grace Caroline (née Swanson; 1895-1997), a teacher, and Glenn Lucius Hefner (1896-1976), an accountant. His parents were from Nebraska. He had a younger brother, Keith (1929-2016).

Education

Hefner went to Sayre Elementary School and then to Steinmetz High School. Then he studied at the Chicago Art Institute for a summer before enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in psychology. Hefner earned his Bachelor's Degree in 1949.

Career

By the early 1950s, Hefner had landed a copy-writing job at the Chicago office of Esquire magazine. In January 1952, he left his job after he was denied a $5 raise. Out on his own, Hefner was determined to start his own publication. So when "Playboy" first hit the newsstands in 1953, it represented a new openness about sexuality that was beginning to influence American life.

The magazine was originally to be called "Stag Party," but Hefner, who wanted to suggest sophistication as well as high living and wild parties, eventually settled on Playboy. He hoped to make his magazine the equal of others that featured female nudity as well as articles, such as Esquire, for which Hefner had also worked and which had recently stopped featuring suggestive photography.

Playboy was an instant sensation, mainly because Hefner had shrewdly purchased a nude photograph of actress Marilyn Monroe; it had been taken before her success in Hollywood, and Hefner used it as the centerfold of his first issue. Monroe was a star by the time the magazine was published, and the first issue sold out quickly. The immediate success of the magazine prompted Hefner to establish a proper office and staff for the magazine, and as of the fourth issue the Playboy empire was officially under way.

When the success of the magazine came to the attention of the mainstream public, Hefner was happy to portray himself as the playboy his magazine described. In 1959 he even hosted the television series "Playboy's Penthouse," a weekly talk show set in a bachelor pad, featuring plenty of the magazine's "playmates" and celebrities such as comedian Lenny Bruce and singers Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole.

For Hefner, his magazine and image were responses to the new mood of the country. He felt that the puritan ethic was eroding and that the pursuit of pleasure and material gain was the way of life for many Americans. Over the years it has continued to have its followers, and Hefner's small magazine for men has become an empire extending well beyond magazine publishing.

Hefner died at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, on September 27, 2017, at the age of 91. The causes were cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, sepsis and an E. coli infection.

Achievements

• 

  Hugh Hefner is best known as the founder of the Playboy Enterprises, Inc. which managed the ‘Playboy’ magazine empire along with other business ventures. The company also owns and operates the iconic Playboy Mansion property in Los Angeles, California.
  
  The ‘Playboy’ played an important role in the sexual revolution in America and remains one of the best-known brands in the world.
  
  In 1998, Hefner was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Art of Doug Sneyd: A Collection of Playboy Cartoons

    (This book includes a foreword by Playboy founder Hugh Hef...)

    2016
  • Inside the Playboy Mansion: If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring

    (Examines life inside the Playboy Mansion with observation...)

    1998
  • Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds, 1953-2016

    (This edition, with the foreword by Hugh Hefner, celebrate...)

    2017

Politics

Hefner donated and raised money for the Democratic Party. In 2011, he referred to himself as an independent due to disillusionment with both the Democratic and Republican parties. However, in 2012, he supported Barack Obama's reelection campaign.

Views

Quotations: "If you had to sum up the idea of Playboy, it is antipuritanism. Not just in regard to sex, but the whole range of play and pleasure. "

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Katie Price: "The most fascinating person I have met so far is indeed Mr. Hugh Hefner. An incredible man!"
  
  Jessica Hahn: "Church is great, but I found my church here. Hugh Hefner has been nothing but a gentleman."

Connections

Hugh Hefner’s first marriage was to Mildred Williams in 1949 which produced two children, a daughter, Christie, and a son, David. The couple divorced in 1959.

He tied the knot for the second time in 1989 with Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad. He has two sons from this marriage. The couple separated in 1998 and finally divorced in 2010.

He married model Crystal Harris on December 31, 2012; Hefner was 86 and Harris 26 at the time of their much publicized wedding.

Father:

Glenn Lucius Hefner

Mother:

Grace Caroline Swanson

Spouse:

Mildred Williams

(m. 1949; div. 1959)

Spouse:

Kimberley Conrad

(m. 1989; div. 2010)

Spouse:

Crystal Harris

(m. 2012)

Brother:

Keith Hefner

Daughter:

Christie Ann Hefner

She is the former Playboy Enterprises Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Son:

Cooper Hefner

Son:

David Hefner

References

• Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream The extraordinary inside story of an American icon.
  2008
• Newsweek Hugh Hefner: An American Icon A tribute to the life and style of the iconic founder of the Playboy empire, Newsweek: Hugh Hefner is a 100-page special edition tribute that details Hef's rise through exclusive editorial and stunning photographs.
  2017
• Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel Academy Award winning director Brigitte Berman takes an up-close look at the life and work of the iconic founder of Playboy magazine Hugh Hefner and subsequently unveils an unlikely charitable, idealistic side to the man.
  2009
• TIME Hugh Hefner, 1926-2017 In a new Commemorative Edition from TIME - Hugh Hefner, the publisher, entrepreneur and cultural icon is examined through essays and photographs.
  2017