Samantha Dorman takes it as it comes. Tall and well-built, with a mane of dark, kinky hair, Sam – as she prefers to be called – was born in Florida. Growing up in St. Petersburg, she had a wealth of sun and sand at her disposal, but she wasn’t your average beach bum – most often, you’d find young Sam crouched over a tide pool, cataloguing the local marine life. She cites Jacques Cousteau one of her personal heroes. “As long as I can remember, my mother and sister have been rescuing and adopting lost and injured animals,” she explains. “When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but my goal is to earn a degree in marine biology.” Sam sums it all up like this: “I’d rather spend a year saving birds from an oil slick than posing for a camera.” Miss Dorman’s road to Playmate-hood was winding, but by no means long – from the young age of sixteen, she’d modeled with the prestigious Wilhelmina Agency, but nursed a longstanding ambition to pose for Playboy. After a test with our Associate Photography Editor, she was featured in The Height Report, a pictorial on tall women, and on the cover of our July ’91 issue; two short months later, she was named Miss September 1991. “When I was a little girl,” says Sam, “I used to sneak peeks at my dad’s copies of Playboy. Those women looked so perfect to me, almost like goddesses. The idea of ever becoming a Playmate seemed impossible.” Now that she’s a Playmate, however, Sam’s open to all of life’s possibilities – she plans to continue modeling and earn marine biology degree, and has made appearances on Seinfeld and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Despite her busy schedule, Samantha wouldn’t mind meeting Mr. Right. “My ideal man is intelligent, honest, and kind at heart,” she says. Miss Dorman’s Mr. Right will also love fresh air, children and animals, and will buy her a bouquet of her favorite pink roses on special occasions.