About Kendra Wilkinson

Kendra Wilkinson was born in San Diego, California, and is of English and Irish descent. Kendra is the eldest of two children, her younger sibling is her brother Colin. Her mother, Patti, was originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and had been a cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. Her father, Eric, founded several biotechnology companies, before retiring at the age of 48. Kendra’s parents divorced in 1994. Wilkinson grew up in Clairemont, a middle-class community in central San Diego, and attended Clairemont High School, from which she graduated in 2003. She played softball for six years with the Clairemont Bobby Sox. When she left high school she began working as a glamour model, and also briefly worked as a dental assistant.

Career

Kendra Wilkinson met Hugh Hefner at his 78th birthday party in April 2004, where she was hired to be one of the “painted girls” (women who are nude except for painted-on accessories). Hefner had apparently seen her picture, shot by photographer Kim Riley, on a fax machine at the Playboy Mansion and wanted to know who she was. Shortly after they met, Hefner asked Wilkinson to be one of his girlfriends, and he moved her into the Playboy Mansion along with her dogs, Raskal and Martini.

She was featured on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door, which followed the lives of Hefner’s then-girlfriends: Wilkinson, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. She moved out of the Playboy Mansion in 2009 after meeting her future husband, Hank Baskett, and filmed her own spin-off reality show for E! called Kendra. The first season was about her living on her own and planning her wedding.

Wilkinson has made several cameos on different programs such as Las Vegas and Entourage. She also appeared in Akon’s music video “Smack That”. While on the set of the video, Eminem poured a bottle of water on her head, though the two later reconciled. In 2006, she appeared in the Playboy Special Editions Sexy 100. In 2007, she appeared in Nickelback’s music video of “Rockstar”, along with Madison and Marquardt. They also had a cameo role in the 2006 film Scary Movie 4. Wilkinson also showed her creative side as a rapper on MTV’s Celebrity Rap Superstar which debuted on August 30, 2007. She rapped to Ludacris’ “Fantasy”, in response to the question asked by the show’s host, “Can Kendra move her mouth as fast as she moves her booty?”. She went on to take second place, losing to Shar Jackson.

Wilkinson’s stated career goal is to become a massage therapist or sports announcer. In December 2005, she became a regular blogger columnist at the website of the Philadelphia Eagles, the same team for which her mother had been a professional cheerleader, and for which her husband plays professionally.

Wilkinson stars in a spinoff of Girls Next Door, titled Kendra, which focuses on her life after leaving the Playboy Mansion and getting engaged to then Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett. The Girls Next Door executive producer Kevin Burns serves in the same capacity on the series. Kendra premiered on June 7, 2009, and had record breaking numbers for E! with 2.6 million viewers, and was the highest-rated reality debut for the network since 2002′s premiere of The Anna Nicole Show. E! ordered eight episodes. She is currently working on a second season of the show which premiered March 14, 2010.

In early 2010 Kendra announced that she was writing an autobiography about her life. The book is due to be in stores in July.

On May 5th, 2010, it was reported that Vivid Entertainment acquired a sex tape of Kendra, which was filmed before she was married. Although her attorneys ordered a cease and desist, Vivid is confident that they have the rights to distribute the tape.