Susie Diane Owens (born May 28, 1956) is an American model and businesswoman. She was featured as ''Playboy''

Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

of the Month for March 1988. From 1988 to 2016, she worked in the perfume business, creating the fragrances Child for women and Heir for men.

Early life and education

Owens was born on May 28, 1956, in

Arkansas City, Kansas Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut River in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. The n ...

, and raised in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. She obtained a nursing degree and worked in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

as a model and stripper.

Career

Model and actress

In 1983 Owens appeared in her first ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' pictorial. She was featured as ''Playboy''

of the Month for March 1988, when she was 31. Afterwards, she moved to Los Angeles, living in the

Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner who lived there from 1974 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hills ...

. She dated rock star

Bret Michaels Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...

and worked as a

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

actress. Owens also worked as a mascot for the Golden Apple Comics stores, playing Flaxen, a blonde nurse who becomes a superhero and fights crime. Her portrayal of Flaxen served as the basis for the 1992 comic book of the same name, The 1992 Comics was Written by

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series ''Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book ''Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and bl ...

and Drawn by

Richard Howell Richard Howell (October 25, 1754April 28, 1802) was the third governor of New Jersey from 1794 to 1801. Early life and military career Howell was born in Newark in the Colony of Delaware. He was a lawyer and soldier of the early United States ...

with ink by Tim Burgard and

Jim Mooney James Noel Mooney (August 13, 1919 – March 30, 2008) was an American comics artist best known for his long tenure at DC Comics and as the signature artist of Supergirl, as well as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, both during wh ...

, the cover is a painting by

Steve Rude Steve Rude (born December 31, 1956) is an American comics artist. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Nexus''. Early life Steve Rude was born on December 31, 1956, in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended the Milwaukee School of Art and Design, the ...

and published by 'Golden Appel Comics' Distributed by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

A second ComicBook, Flaxen: Alter-Ego was produced in 1995 and was written by

James Hudnall James David Hudnall (April 10, 1957 – April 9, 2019) was an American writer who began his career in the comic book field in 1986 with the series '' Espers'', published by Eclipse Comics. He later worked for Marvel and DC on such titles as '' A ...

, pencilled by

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...

, and inked by David W. Mack it was Published

Caliber Press Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...

, as well as the 1995 sequel ''Flaxen: Alter Ego''.

Perfume business

In 1988, Owens experimented with perfume supplies, creating the fragrance she would later call "Child". She began to wear it herself, and then to bottle small batches for sale in

Fred Segal Fred Segal is a clothing and accessories retail brand founded in West Hollywood, California. Its main location is on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, United States. Stores There are four Fred Segal locations in the United States ...

's Apothia and other boutiques. Following the

1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately ...

and the death of her father, Owens decided to give up her career at Playboy and return to Dallas. She worked as a nurse in a plastic surgery practice, while continuing to sell perfume on the side under the name Susan D. Owens. In 2000, the actress

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom '' What I Like About You'' (2002–06). In 2012, she starred ...

told ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only ...

'' magazine that Child "drives men wild", causing a sharp increase in demand. Owens left her nursing job and began making fragrances full-time. In addition to Child, she developed the men's scent Heir. She blended and bottled the products by hand in her garage; by 2006, she was producing 50,000 bottles of Child perfume and lotion per year. Child acquired a cult following, with celebrities such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

reportedly using it. A reporter for the lifestyle magazine ''360 West'' characterised Child as "a heady white jasmine-based fragrance". In 2013, a 1-ounce bottle cost almost . Owens sold the business in 2016 to the cosmetics retailer Beautyhabit.

Personal life

Owens is divorced and has one daughter.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Susie 1956 births Living people Actresses from Kansas American cosmetics businesspeople Perfumers 1980s Playboy Playmates Businesspeople from Kansas Businesspeople from Dallas People from Arkansas City, Kansas 21st-century American women