Posted on 06/27/2009 5:18:22 PM PDT by devane617
Living at the legendary Playboy Mansion in California, becoming big-time models and being the girlfriends of Hugh Hefner has been a blast, even more so than Karissa and Kristina Shannon could have imagined.
Yet the 19-year-old twins admit they sometimes get a little homesick.
In particular, the onetime Clearwater residents miss Clearwater Beach, Ybor City's nightlife, their favorite radio station (WLLD-FM 98.7), their friends, and of course, their family.
"We try as much as we can to visit," Kristina Shannon said in a phone interview this week.
Every time they do, they're a little more famous.
A year ago, the striking sisters were WingHouse servers. Today, they're Playboy magazine's Playmates of the Month for the July/August 2009 double issue, currently on newsstands.
They'll be featured during the upcoming season of the E! hit The Girls Next Door, a reality show that will chronicle their lives with the man known worldwide simply as "Hef."
"I love Playboy," Karissa Shannon said. "I think Playboy's classy. Being in the same issue with Kristina is cool. It's a great experience for us."
Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., Karissa and Kristina moved to a home on Clearwater Beach when they were 1. As teens, they attended Largo High for a while but also were homeschooled.
The sisters worked at WingHouses in Largo and St. Petersburg, and enjoyed outdoor activities such as riding water scooters and parasailing.
The twins' odyssey into their new world started in August when they visited California for a photo shoot after being chosen as finalists for Playboy's 55th Playmate Search. During the trip, they caught Hefner's attention and began dating the 83-year-old shortly thereafter.
They moved into his mansion in October.
"He's fun," Kristina Shannon said. "He's nice, really laid-back. He's all about having fun. Everyone gets along with him. He's very, very smart."
Shortly after making the move, the sisters found themselves in the news again when TMZ.com reported that they had been charged with battery earlier in the year after a skirmish at a Clearwater party. Both pleaded no contest and received probation.
The sisters, who are difficult to tell apart (the only noticeable difference is a beauty mark on Karissa's neck), often dress alike. They wore matching tennis skirts and sailor caps for their 10-page pictorial, shot at the mansion.
"We loved to do our pictorial together because it's twice as hot," Kristina Shannon said, laughing.
The twins say their family and friends have been supportive. Their 13-year-old sister, Rebecca, looks up to them, their grandmother, Annette, was thrilled, and their father, Patrick, is a longtime Playboy fan.
The sisters are not the first Playmates with Tampa Bay roots (the exact number with local ties isn't known). In 2007, Spencer Scott, who was born in St. Petersburg, was a Playmate. Clearwater-born Raquel Gibson was a Playmate two years earlier.
The twins say they're enjoying life in Southern California, but they plan to visit home in August. And who knows, they just might convince their boyfriend to come along for the ride.
"We're trying," Kristina Shannon said.
Everyone's using everyone.
If I am not mistaken, a few of the original owners/starters of Hooters started WingHouse. They are both (WH, and Hooters) from Clearwater.
I think it’s called PR for all concerned.
They're 19...which means they're adults now.
I wonder if they’ll be proud when they’re 45 and have sons and daughters. Maybe. Maybe not.
parsy, who is trying not to judge
The advertisements in earlier Playboy magazines, from the ‘60s and ‘70s, are pretty cool.
Hm...cannot imagine many people at his memorial service except those who have made money through his “business.” Yikes - what a pervert.
It is pitiful that these two girls have a value system that taught them that whoring themselves to a dirty old man is an acceptable way to succeed.
What were their charges?
Exaggerate much?
OMG-they are only 2 years older than my son!
Yuck....Who could think of marrying them...Hef is going to wreck those girls.
Getting married won’t be a problem. Staying married is where they’ll probably come up short. They’re fit,but don’t they just know it.
parsy, who heard that on a cd
ping ping and mo ping
They *tried* and failed with the centerfolds, who were generally "bra-less".
Cheers!
Why not all his other friends with 19 yr old daughters are doing the same thing in some losers singlewide trailer.
I think you've nailed it. Looking back to my teen years, guys looked at Sean Connery's Bond as the definition of cool. The ultimate Alpha Male to aspire to emulate. And Playboy WAS the James Bond magazine (without the guns). Yes, there were naked women there, but if naked women were all you wanted you would buy Hustler.
Hey nineteen
No we got nothing in common
No we can’t talk at all
Please take me along as you slide on down
The Cuervo Gold
The fine colombian
Make tonight a wonderful thing
Oh, you are guys are jealous that they are hanging around Hef, and not with you! Nice!!
Wait --- that can't be possible, can it?????
I have never seen more un-Playboy looking “women” as these two. Has anyone done a chart of centerfold age over the life of the magazine?
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