Izabella St. James
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Izabella St. James (born 25 September 1975) is a television personality and a former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, editor/publisher of ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, 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 H ...
'' magazine. She is best known as the author of a memoir entitled ''Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion'', published 2006, about activities at 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 Hill ...
in Los Angeles.


Biography

Izabella St. James was born in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, Poland, when that country was under Communist rule. When St. James was ten years old her parents moved to
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece, where they lived for a year. Her family then moved to
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. A year later they settled further east in the province of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, Canada. St. James lived in Kitchener-Waterloo for five years while she attended high school, and graduated with an award for academic excellence. After high school, she moved to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Canada, to attend
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...
. She started with a double major in political science and history, but switched to a humanistic studies major, and studied art history, classical music, literature and Spanish. She then attended
Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...
School of Law in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...
. She finished law school in December 2001, earning her Juris Doctor degree by graduating a semester early, having completed study abroad programs at
Universidad Complutense The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, Spain, and at the Jagiellonian University in her native Poland. However, she did not complete the
bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...
the following February. In September 2000, she met Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends in a Los Angeles nightclub, and began attending parties at 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 Hill ...
. In January 2002, after finishing law school, St. James became part of Hefner's girlfriend posse, spending nights out and traveling regularly with him and his girlfriends. In April 2002, Hefner invited her to move into the Playboy Mansion and become one of his "official girlfriends". St. James lived at the Mansion for two years, moving out and ending her relationship with Hefner in May 2004. Since leaving the Playboy Mansion, St. James has been acting and writing. In August 2006, she published ''Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion'', a memoir of her time as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends. In 2015, she starred in the first season of the Polish reality TV series called ''Żony Hollywood'' ("Hollywood Wives") which is based on ''
The Real Housewives ''The Real Housewives'' is an international reality television franchise that consists of 57 programs; 11 American installments, 20 international installments and 26 spin-offs. Most of the franchise documents the personal and professional lives ...
'' franchise. She runs a rescue service for
pug The Pug is a breed of dog originally from China, with physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face and curled tail. The breed has a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most often light brown (Fawn (colour) ...
s and is known on social media as "The Pug Queen".


Books

*''Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion'' (2006), Running Press


Selected filmography


Film

*''The Goods: The Don Ready Story'' (2009) *''
Ninja Cheerleaders ''Ninja Cheerleaders'' is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by David Presley. Plot A ninja sensei Hiroshi (George Takei) must be rescued by his three cheerleader/stripper students April (Ginny Weirick), Courtney (Trishelle Cannatella) and ...
'' (2007) *''Thunder Over Reno'' (2007) – Paige Raider


Television

*''
Bernie Mac Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American comedian and actor. Born and raised on Chicago's South Side, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined fell ...
'' *''VH1 Fabulous Life of Hugh Hefner'' *''MTV Cribs Playboy Mansion'' *''
The Surreal Life ''The Surreal Life'' is an American reality television series that records a group of celebrities as they live together in Glen Campbell's former mansion in the Hollywood Hills for two weeks. The format of the show resembles that of '' The Real ...
'' – Season One, The Wedding and Goodbye *''Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration'' on A&E *'' Sharon Osbourne Show''


References


External links


Izabella St. James official website
* * Perseus Book
Izabella St. James author page for ''Bunny Tales'''' Bunny Tales'' on amazon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. James, Izabella 1975 births Living people American film actresses Polish emigrants to the United States American memoirists McGill University alumni Pepperdine University School of Law alumni 21st-century American actresses American women memoirists