(source: her personal page at playboy.com)

I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1978. I was my mom's first and only little girl, so I lived a very girly life. I started in pageants at a young age and continued to be active in them until high school. We traveled all over to compete in Alabama and Florida and of course my home state. I won a few titles -- Little Miss Baton Rouge and Little Miss Louisiana. Aside from the pageant stuff, I was really quite normal. We lived in the country, so there was always lots of grass and open space for us to play. After school the neighborhood kids and I would put together awesome "yard ball" teams and play until dark...or until somebody got hurt. I never played any sports in high school because I was so busy with runway modeling and shoots for local TV commercials that I never had time for much else.

I grew up loving to draw, paint, sculpt and do anything else artistic. It all started with coloring books and crayons and just sort of went from there. I continued in art all through high school and even won awards for my work. I hope to one day be able to sit down and start another project and finish it, but without Ms. Roger (my art teacher) motivating me, I may not be able to. I attended Nicholls State University, but I just couldn't stay focused on my studies, so after one semester I took some time off to set myself straight. I was just a few weeks from re-enrolling when I got my big call from Playboy, so I haven't had the time for college lately. But I plan to go back to school as soon as possible.

Do I have pets? Of course! I love all animals, from the anteater to the duckbill platypus. My favorite place is the zoo. I would love to be there every day and just hang out with all the animals. I have four pets: a 97-pound boxer named Andre, a two-pound Maltese named Ivy, a Jenday conure bird named Pico and a big fluffy black cat named PJ. I have raised bunnies, baby squirrels and lots of orphaned wild birds in the past. It makes me happy to set them free as healthy adult animals and know that I helped them grow...and now they can raise their own babies!

I became a Playmate by accident. I was in Los Angeles on other business and was not having much luck, so I decided to pack up and leave. Until my friend -- who also knew Hef -- told me that I was in town for a reason and I should make the trip worth it. He suggested that I go into Playboy Studio West and just give it a shot. So I did, and it all went from there. I was asked to come back the next day for a test shoot. I guess Hef liked what he saw, because I was called less than two weeks later to come shoot a Playboy Centerfold.

I would love to pose again. I am not sure that I could do the actual Centerfold shoot again -- I call it "Hell week" -- but I love modeling, in general. The Centerfold shoot was the most trying part of the whole process. It's not as easy as it looks! You basically have to hold one pose for an entire week straight. Just redoing the same thing over and over, while several people are all around, reapplying makeup and helping you find the right pose, the right angle. And just when you think you finally got it right, someone tells you to do it one more time because the lighting was just a little bit off, or your smile wasn't quite right. It can be so tiring! But in the end, it is so worth it because the photos look so beautiful. To see unpublished photos from my Playmate pictorial join the Playboy Cyber Club.

Since becoming Miss June 2000, I have been quite busy, thankfully. I appeared in one of the Wet & Wild videos and worked at the bikini fashion show in Las Vegas for Wet & Wild. I have also had the opportunity to shoot a spread for Playboy's Book of Lingerie and was selected as one of the Playmates to participate in the Betsey Johnson fashion show in New York. Check out my scrapbook for some of my favorite photos from some of these events. I have also been traveling all over for Playboy promotions, meeting fans and just having a great time.

I still live at home in Louisiana. It's where my heart is right now. I will eventually move out to LA, but the time isn't yet right. I don't think I will get into acting once I get there. Print modeling is where I feel most comfortable and I think I can do well with that. I aspire to follow in the footsteps of Cindy Crawford. She's a well-known and respected model, but has managed to avoid the tabloids and a lot of the bad press most celebrities must deal with.

I will definitely find time to finish school as well. I plan to get my degree in animal behavior and find a good job at a zoo or Sea World maybe, where I can take care of animals.

And I even get to have some good practice very soon! A friend of mine owns a ranch where he trains animals for movies. He is letting me take care of his new baby Siberian tiger. I will bottle-feed it for a month before he takes the tiger and begins his training. I am so excited. He and I have talked about opening a big cat sanctuary somewhere down here in Louisiana for abused and orphaned animals. There is nothing like that here yet, so it might just work out.

Before I posed for Playboy, I always admired the magazine for being so classy and sophisticated. I also liked the way that Playboy has given so many girls a great start to their careers. Even though I had never considered sending in my pictures or anything, I always said that if given the opportunity, I would definitely pose.

I am constantly asked the question, "How is Hugh?" Everyone always wants to know about the sex icon and his life and loves. I find it humorous how different he actually is from how people imagine him to be. He is such a kind, soft-spoken man. I have not had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him, but when I do see him (always in his PJs!), he is exceptionally nice, very polite and even funny. He makes us girls feel very welcome in his home and for that I appreciate him very much. Hef is just a regular guy, in my opinion, someone who is a nice friend to have.

Staying at the Mansion is awesome! It's like being at a hotel but with all your friends. We Playmates eat, tan, play and do everything we want to do, or nothing at all! I love going into the pantry and just hanging out with the staff. They are probably the nicest group of guys that I know. I feel like I have gained a lot of big brothers. There is always someone there to talk to or just listen to us at the end of the day. I always feel very safe there, and I know, as many of the girls do, that if we ever need anything, there is always someone at the Mansion who can be there for us. And my favorite thing to do at the Mansion? Go in the back and hang out with Terri the gorilla and the squirrel monkeys. We can go into their enclosure and feed them. They love M&M's! I really don't have any favorite foods from the Mansion. I suppose that, being from the Deep South, I have very picky taste buds. So everything that I eat in Los Angeles all tastes the same. I like my food hot -- true Cajun food! I just eat a lot of strawberries and bananas when I stay at the Mansion.

So far, I have met some very cool Playmates at the Mansion. My first real friend encounter was with Julia Schultz. She is incredible! Her energy and spunk were an instant hit with me, and she's been nothing but wonderful since the beginning. We always get to stay together at the Mansion, and I am very happy that I can call her my friend. She is definitely one of a kind.

Another one of my close buddies is Brooke Berry. She is like the little sister that I never had. Nef Shepherd is a close ally because we are from the same place, so right off we bonded and became quick friends.

My advice to a woman who wants to become a Playmate: Just do it! You never know what can happen! No matter what people say, if you really believe in your heart that it is something worthwhile, push away all the negatives and go with your feelings. Being a Playmate is an honor, and I am very excited to be part of this, as should any woman who is chosen.

Yall come back now, Ya hear?
XXOO
Shannon