Courtney Taylor

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Penthouse Pet Courtney Taylor Interview

I call her in Michigan Wednesday afternoon, Jan 25, 2006.

Luke: "How did you enjoy the AVN show in Las Vegas?"

Courtney: "Parts of it were like a circus freak show, but there were some beautiful women and gay porn guys there. My highlight was getting a picture taken with Jenna Jameson. She is beautiful and sweet."

Luke: "Do you look at her as a role model?"

Courtney: "Sure. She's successful. Wasn't she written about in Forbes as one of the richest women in the world? I wouldn't want to make my money that way, but she worked hard to get where she is. She's very intelligent and has a good business mind. She shows that if you work hard and are dedicated, you can get the American dream. That's probably not what people think about when they think of the American dream."

Luke: "You never want to do hardcore?"

Courtney: "No."

Luke: "How did you get into nude modeling?"

Courtney: "I did a lot of commercial modeling. This one photographer [Michigan's Danny O'Connor] said I should do some nude stuff and submit it to Playboy. I said, 'No, I could never do that.' But I just started shooting in less and less clothing. Then Playboy came to Michigan. They were doing the Search for the Millenium [centerfold].

"I went there. I never thought anything would come of it. But they liked my Polaroids and scheduled a test shoot. They flew me to Chicago. Hugh Hefner liked the pictures and wanted me to come back to shoot for the centerfold.

"I did that [near the end of 1998]. It was a weird experience. Back then they shot with the 8x10 negative. I was really uncomfortable. You spend a week doing that one centerfold pose. They were mean to me. I didn't like the way the stylist made me look. The hair made me look like I was wearing a helmet. The make-up wasn't me. I would complain and then she'd cut me down. For a couple of days, I was crying on the set.

"I was 22. Going from catalogue stuff to Playboy, it was my first nude shoot that would be published, the Playboy Centerfold. I was really nervous. They told me I had a lazy eye and to hold my eyes wide open. In the actual centerfold picture, I look like I'm bug-eyed.

"I got this contract saying, you've been approved for the centerfold. You're going to get $25,000.

"Then I found out later on that they decided not to run me as a centerfold and I was really upset.

"Then ended up running me in the October 2000 issue but not as a centerfold.

"I heard how much money you could make shooting for Penthouse. I mailed some of my pictures in and that's how I got into Penthouse."

Luke: "On a photo shoot, what do you think about?"

Courtney: "Food. Usually I'm starving because I never eat anything before I shoot.

"I just think about how I look. I try to look sexy. To me, being sexy is mostly in the facial expression. Being naked is great and all, but people look at the face. I try to think about sex and pretend I'm having sex."

Luke: "When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"

Courtney: "I wanted to be a psychologist. I have degrees from the University of Michigan in Psychology and Respiratory Therapy. Right now I'm finishing my pre-med classes so I can apply [at age 30] to medical school. I work as a respiratory therapist when I'm not modeling."

Luke: "How has being a nude model affected your life?"

Courtney: "It made me more self-confident. I was always insecure about my body. I would see my mother naked and even after puberty I'd realize that my body doesn't look anything like that. There's something wrong with me.

"I was all-natural when I shot for Playboy and Penthouse. It gave me confidence that at least some people find me sexy. It made me feel more confident about being nude.

"I've always been reclusive. I've been with Penthouse since February 2002, doing promotions. I meet a lot of people and it's made me more social.

"I'm not sure why this is, but if you're a woman who likes to look nice, and wears make-up, you have a hard time making female friends. When I work at the hospital or at school, I have a very hard time making female friends. It's really lonely. Eversince highschool... I meet other models now. For some reason, they're not as snotty as people I meet in the everyday world. I've made some of my closest friends through Penthouse. They're just so nice and understanding. I meet intelligent women such as Victoria Zdrok who's a psychologist and a lawyer. My other model friends include Martina Warren, Jamie Lynn, Cassia Riley, Alexis Winston, Alexa Lauren."

Luke: "Why do women have a hard time being friends with you? They must fear that you are going to steal their man?"

Courtney: "I don't know if that is it. It's not like I ever hang out with their boyfriends.

"I've been hurt badly in the past because I'll think a girl is my friend and I'll tell her stuff about myself and I think she likes me for who I am. You and I are in the industry. To us, nude modeling isn't a big deal. But when you're out in Michigan, it is a big deal. Even if you think someone is your good friend, and they ask, what do you do?, if someone is your friend, you should be able to tell them what you're up to. But when you tell somebody that you're a nude model and you're doing promotions for Penthouse, maybe that's what they have a hard time with.

"People who I thought were my friends would be nice to my face and then go behind my back and gossip about me and make up these crazy things. They'd exaggerate what I do or just say derogatory things about me. That hurts my feelings a lot.

"I'm not an idiot. There's a stereotype that if you're a model, particularly if you're a blonde model, that you're superficial and dumb. I'm not superficial at all. I date intelligent, interesting guys. I don't date men for money like some women. I'm in school. I'm not just in modeling. I'm not even interested in modeling. I just do it for the money. It just happens to be fun too. I meet girls who aren't mean to me."

Luke: "Do you sometimes think that the price you've paid for being a nude model exceeds the benefits to your life?"

Courtney: "Sometimes. I'm 30-years old. I planned on being a doctor by now. But the money for modeling has been so good that I've put off my schooling for a while. I was Pet of the Year Runner-Up for 2004. I got a cover and layout and $25,000 on top of the $5,000 they gave me. With the promotional money, I made $50,000 in three months. That's hard to turn down. When you're doing promotions regularly, that's a lot more money than working as a respiratory therapist in a hospital.

"I think now that if I would've just stuck with school and forgot about the money, maybe I would be happier with my life because I'd be further along academically and professionally."

Luke: "How has being a nude model affected your dating life?"

Courtney: "It's hard sometimes. A lot of guys hit on me. I'm not sure if they happen to know that I'm a Penthouse Pet. I'm not sure if they're going out with me because of who I am or because they think it is cool to date a Pet. So now I just don't tell anybody initially. Some guys have a hard time with it. They might find it's something they don't want to tell their parents.

"One horrible relationship I was in a couple of years ago... I can't even believe I dated this loser. He told me that a Penthouse Pet is someone you'd want to date, but not somebody you'd want to marry. Considering the fact that I'm sure I'm more intelligent than any of the girls he's dated."

She laughs. "I think that if you find a nice guy, it doesn't matter what you do. They'll get a little jealous when you're out on promotions. If the person is not superficial, then they will not care what you do.

"Living in Michigan is like a whole other world, it's such a conservative state. People can't comprehend a person being a nude model. The reaction is about 90% negative.

"Even though the University of Michigan is known for being liberal, people can't comprehend being a nude model. You get the argument a lot [that porn objectifies women] at the University of Michigan because you have a large population of feminists. But if you want to talk about objectifying women, go to a sorority or fraternity party. That's all those parties are for. I was never interested in the Greek system.

"These people will look down on a nude model but will have no problem getting drunk and hooking up with a guy they met five minutes ago. Talk about hypocrisy."

She laughs.

Courtney says she's never seen a hardcore movie. She says she's not a slut. "I have to get to know the person before I have sex with them. A man turns me on with his intellect, sense of humor, and how nice he is.

"I know a lot of nude models and porn stars and I think the percentage who are promiscuous is the same as the people who are not in the field.

"A lot of nude models don't even drink. They exercise all the time."

Luke: "What type of man do you find intriguing?"

Courtney: "Someone who's quirky. I hate people who follow the norms of society just because everyone else does. I like people who think for themselves. Guys who are funny. Someone who'd like to spend the night watching Woody Allen movies -- Love and Death, Annie Hall, Zelig.

"Woody Allen is a person who went against all norms. People give him a bad rap...but he ended up marrying [his girlfriend's adopted daughter]. Because they're still together, I don't consider him a pervert."

Courtney says she doesn't date guys under 35.

Luke: "Did you have a happy childhood?"

Courtney: "Yes. My dad left my mom when I was six. He turned out to be gay. I found out when I was ten. I found some letters my mom had. He lives in Canada. My mom remarried when I was nine. I consider my stepfather my dad. I cared for him until he died in 2004. He was the person in the world that I was closest to, that I trusted the most."

Luke: "How do you think your dad leaving you at a young age affected you?"

Courtney: "It left a void. I get lonelier than the average person. It's important to me to have really close relationships."

Luke: "An extra sensitivity to loss."

Courtney: "Definitely.

"Right before my stepdad died, I was dating a guy who was a complete asshole. It was my first experience with someone who was really mean and abusive. A sociopath. He told me he would come and help me take care of my dad, which he never followed through on. When my stepdad passed away, I saw how awful his friends and family were. I didn't trust anybody for a while. I saw how nobody came to visit my stepdad during his last few years. Nobody besides me took care of him. It made me lose faith in people."

Luke: "How much contact do you have with your biological father?"

Courtney: "Not a lot."

Luke: "How do you spend your spare time?"

Courtney: "I take organic chemistry. I spend my spare time studying."

Courtney enjoys a great sex life with a doctor. "He's really good in bed because he's a physician. He knows all the spots. He doesn't waste time. A lot of times with men, they'll be caressing your tendon. They'll be a mile away from your clit.

"I don't know where men get the idea that direct clitoral stimulation is good. It is not a good idea to push hard directly on the clit. Or guys who think that stimulating your G-spot has something to do with moving your penis in and out. You need to push up on the G-spot.

"When Victoria [Zdrok] and I were on the Howard Stern Show, they had no idea where the G-spot was. Even scarier than that was that they did not even care to know where it was.

"I don't know how men make it in this world because so many of them suck in the sack. I don't know what they're thinking. Maybe most of the time they have sex when they're drunk and the girl is drunk. They think foreplay lasts a minute.

"You're about to have an orgasm and the guy says, 'I have to be inside of you.' It's the worst thing they can say. It's like what younger guys say."

Luke: "Can I just put the tip in?"

Courtney laughs. "That's a big line too. That insults my intelligence."

Courtney says she didn't have her first orgasm until two years ago "because I didn't masturbate. I was so self-conscious about my body, I wouldn't let guys go down on me. An orgasm was even better than what I expected. I'm at my sexual peak.

"I want a guy who can make me laugh. Laughing is as important as having orgasms. I don't want to marry someone who's going to get mad if the kids spill their milk."

Courtney wants marriage, kids and a white picket fence. "It's hard to find someone to trust. I have a hard time trusting people. I'm very skeptical. It's a limiting factor, but I suppose if someone really loves me, it wouldn't matter how annoying and paranoid I am, they would just love me anyways."

Luke: "In theory."

Courtney: "Everybody I've dated says I'm a pain in the ass."

Luke: "High maintenance."

Courtney: "Definitely. But if someone really loves you, they won't care. My being high-maintenance is a way of me weeding out all the people... Eighty percent of men cheat. So, if someone is going to get irritated that you are high-maintenance, they are probably more likely to cheat on you."

Luke: "I'm not sure how rational this theory is."

Courtney: "Thanks a lot."

Courtney says she'd find emotional cheating more upsetting than physical cheating with a hooker. "If my husband had an affair with my best friend, I'd drive off a cliff. If he got a blowjob from a hooker, a simple divorce would do the trick."

10/20/06

Luke: "What's new?"

Courtney: "I got married in August [to a doctor].

"I have trust issues from being a model, though everywhere in the world you see married men hitting on you all the time. I kinda have a negative view of men. Getting hit on by married men all the time gives you a negative view. You see so many married men coming up to me at signings and making jokes, 'I can't show this to my wife.' Now that I'm wife... I never liked signing headshots when married men would act like that. When I hear the word 'wife,' I think of some frumpy woman. I don't want to be the stereotypical wife. From the way men talk, or comedians talk, it seems that as soon as you become a wife, you're automatically boring. Comedians say, 'I'm down in the basement masturbating...and it's not like I'm going to think about my wife when I'm masturbating.' As though that would be so horrendous. I don't want to be one of those women who the guy gets bored with. I get more excited by a person as I'm with them. Unfortunately, with men it seems that they get bored easily and start looking at models and younger women and masturbating to centerfolds in Penthouse magazine."

Luke: "Does he have trust issues with you being a model?"

Courtney: "He did. He wanted me to call him all the time at promotions. When I was at AVN [in Vegas in January], I was texting him all the time. Because I was good about that, now he totally trusts me."

Luke: "Have you known men with a porn addiction?"

Courtney: "Yes. A couple of men I dated. I would find all this porn on their computer. That's not exactly a turn on for me that the guy is a porn addict. Some women think that's cool, but not me. As long as they don't look at with me. You can look at my pictures. I have a website. I'll do anything. The porn addiction thing does creep me out.

"It's a double-edged sword. If a guy is a porn addict when he's single, he likes to masturbate a lot, which means he has a healthy sex drive. Ultimately that's good for the woman."

Luke: "It would be awful for a woman to find her man masturbating to pictures of another woman."

Courtney: "That's empathetic of you."

Luke: "Do you expect monogamy from your husband?"

Courtney: "Yeah. Nothing would devastate me more than to find out my husband had had an affair. I am so paranoid. I'm like a female version of Woody Allen. I told my husband before we got married that he better be serious, because if we get a divorce, I'm going to take more than half of everything he has. If I caught you cheating on me, not only would it devastate me, but I would take a baseball bat to your kneecaps. The last thing I need is to catch my husband having an affair. I would never do that."

"As a model, it's hard to make friends. Other girls don't want to go out with you because they fear their guy will look at you. That's why I'm not making friends, or maybe I'm just not a likeable person. But if they don't want to hang out with me because they think I'm pretty, that's unfortunate.

"I'm jealous and paranoid, but I hope I never turn into one of those women who gets jealous of her husband looking at other women, at young pretty women. We all age. I just hope that I never feel self-conscious about my husband and I going out and him hanging out in a room full of half-naked 20-year olds."

Luke: "How would you feel about your husband going to a stripclub and getting lapdances?"

Courtney: "I would not like that. I would not date someone like that. The guys who do that, especially if they have a girlfriend, they're usually cheeseballs. I can give a lapdance and strip for my husband. I have a lot of different looks. A lot of guys would say, 'Nobody wants to see their wife strip. They want to see something new.' I wouldn't want my husband to seek out a thrill from another girl."

"Instead of applying for medical school, I've decided that road might be too long for me and I might be too old by the time I finish my residency, so I am applying for law school and hope to get a PhD in Biology at the same time.

"I'm 31 years old. I thought I'd be a lot farther along in my education. I thought I'd have a doctorate degree by now. I keep getting sidetracked by things, especially modeling.

"I hope I don't have a bunch of females interviewing me for law school. If I say I'm a model, the next question will be, what kind of modeling did you do?"

Luke: "How was your wedding?"

Courtney: "The week before, my husband's parents came to stay. The mother was on the over-bearing side. I kept on wanting alone time. My husband kept reassuring me that I was doing the right thing in getting married. They were in the room right next to our room. We could hear them cough. We couldn't really talk. The night before the wedding, we got our own hotel room and we were up all night fighting. I was so nervous and he got offended that I was nervous."

Mr. Graser writes: "I don't know shit about Ms. Taylor. I followed your links and went to her web site [sexycourtney.com]. Sometime I like to see what your subjects look like. I got the worst virus I have ever experienced from Ms. Taylor's web site. I hope her husband frequently pleasures himself in his basement."