Playmate Sheila Mullen always knew she was special, but growing up with seven brothers and sisters made it difficult for her to shine as brightly as she wanted to. To make sure she got the attention she deserved, the tall blonde worked on her personality and made sure everyone knew her name. “I’m independent,” says the fearless beauty from Hollywood. “I'm an outgoing person who likes doing things my way. I'm open, friendly and enjoy sex. On the other hand, I have a temper and tend to raise my voice if I get mad.” Far from ordinary, Sheila—or should we say Motor Mouth Mullen—enters a party and makes it business to introduce herself to everyone and give them the Mullen initiation. “I talk a lot. I tend to digress. It comes from growing up in a family with eight kids. Did you know three of my sisters were on The Dating Game at once? My boyfriend is always stopping me and asking, ‘What question started this rap?’” laughs the all-natural model. “When I got my car, I requested personalized license plates with the letters, MMM, for Motor Mouth Mullen. People trying to guess what the letters stand for go, ‘Mmm?’ I say, ‘You got it.’” Even though she’s fearless and feisty, Sheila does admit that posing for Playboy was a fluttering experience and made feel vulnerable. “Posing for the gatefold was strange,” admits the long-legged blonde. “Prior to this, the only pictures I’d seen of myself were family snapshots. You know, there’s Sheila in the front row. These aren’t exactly family pictures, are they?” They most certainly are not, but Sheila couldn’t have been more pleased when she saw the final results of her pictorial. How did she get through the photoshoot if she was so uneasy at first? Our Miss May 1977 confessed she channeled her idol—an actress she is often compared to. “Katharine Hepburn. She has a magnetic personality,” says Sheila. “I’d like to act, to express the different characters within myself. Some people see me as a sweet thing, others as Katharine Hepburn. One guy wanted me to star in a porno film.” Our Playmate of the Month isn’t kidding. She is often approached by men who would like nothing more than to bed the Californian beauty, but she is happily in a relationship with a man who treats her right and protects her. “My boyfriend and I went to Las Vegas a few weeks ago. Most of the time we played blackjack,” explains the voluptuous blonde. “A Saudi Arabian oil sheik saw us and apparently fell in love with me. When I went to the ladies’ room, he asked my boyfriend if they could trade girlfriends for the night. The sheik said, ‘How can you refuse? You have not even seen my girlfriend.’ Tom just said, ‘Don’t need to.’ I like that.” Whether she’s tanning on the sidelines of a football game as the unofficial mascot, posing for Playboy or she’s talking non-stop, no one will ever forget Sheila Mullen.