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THE late Hugh Hefner was known for being surrounded by blonde, beautiful women.

During the later part of his life, the magazine mogul narrowed it down to three live-in girlfriends, otherwise known as his Playboy Bunnies.

Hugh Hefner with his three live-in girlfriends in 2008
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Hugh Hefner with his three live-in girlfriends in 2008Credit: AP:Associated Press

Who were Hugh Hefner's girlfriends?

Hugh Hefner was the Playboy king who welcomed three young women into his castle.

The chosen ones were Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson.

Hugh passed away in 2017, which in turn saw the Playboy Mansion close its doors for the last time.

But for these three women, the memories of living there are all too real and helped to launch them into the spotlight.

Holly Madison

Holly Madison was known as Hugh's Number 1 girlfriend
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Holly Madison was known as Hugh's Number 1 girlfriend

At age 21, Holly moved into the famous mansion first in 2001 and lived there until 2009.

From 2005 until 2009, along with Hugh's other two girlfriends Kendra and Bridget, she appeared in the reality show Girls Next Door which was based on life in the Playboy Mansion.

In 2015 she released her tell-all memoir Down The Rabbit Hole which detailed her life with Hugh and the other bunnies.

In the explosive book, she talked about drugs, the infamous Playboy parties, and alleged abuse.

In May 2016, she released her second book, The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice, and the Road to Reinvention which detailed her career and dating life in Las Vegas.

Asides from her book deals, Holly went on to have her own reality show, Holly's World, which aired from 2009 to 2011.

Now at age 42, Holly has two children with her ex-husband Pasquale Rotella.

Apart from motherhood, Holly is interested in the supernatural and often posts spooky content on social media. Plus, she is a frequent creator on Only Fans.

Bridget Marquardt 

Bridget Marquardt  was next to move into the Mansion in 2002
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Bridget Marquardt  was next to move into the Mansion in 2002

The second Bunny to move into the mansion was Bridget.

She became one of Hugh's live-in girlfriends in 2002.

In her life after the Girls Next Door, she hosted Bridget’s Sexiest Beaches in 2009 for one season.

She also served as a contributor for Yahoo’s Animal Nation and began hosting her Ghost Magnet With Bridget Marquardt podcast in 2019.

Now 48, Bridget has been dating director Nick Carpenter since 2009, and although they got engaged in 2015, they have yet to say "I do."

Like Holly, Bridget is also a self-proclaimed ghost enthusiast, and you can find her dishing on all things scary on her ghostly podcast.

With their commonalities, it's no surprise Bridget and Holly are still in touch.

On December 24, 2021, Bridget posted a heartfelt message to Holly in honor of her birthday via .

"I hope you have the most amazing day and an incredible year to come!" Bridget wrote on a slide show of photos of the two.

Kendra Wilkinson

Kendra Wilkinson became Hugh's third live-in girlfriend in 2004
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Kendra Wilkinson became Hugh's third live-in girlfriend in 2004

A 19-year-old Kendra 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).

He had seen a photo of her shot by Kim Riley on a fax machine at the Playboy Mansion and wanted to know who she was.

Shortly after they met, Hugh asked Kendra to be one of his girlfriends, and he moved her into the Playboy Mansion.

After becoming a staple in the home and a fan favorite on their reality show, she left the mansion in 2009 and landed her own series called Kendra, followed by Kendra On Top.

Kendra's fans saw her fall in love and out of love with her now-ex-husband Hank Baskett. She filed for divorce in 2018.

Prior to their split, the pair welcomed two children together, son Hank Jr. and daughter Alijah.

Since her days at the mansion, Kendra, now 36, swapped modeling for real estate and makes her money working as a realtor.

In July 2020 she joined luxury real estate company The Agency which is led by Mauricio Umansky, the husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kyle Richards.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Although she is no longer a bunny, she isn't done with reality TV just yet.

Her latest project, Kendra Sells Hollywood, a limited reality TV series that focuses on her new career in real estate, premiered on Discovery+ in November 2021.

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