Gianna Amore—whose last name means ‘love’ in Italian—grew up in an ultra-feminine household with her six older sisters. “I was the baby, the lil’ prize,” says dirty blonde Gianna, who dutifully served as her sisters’ little assistant. “My sister Bethany is five years older than I am. When we were kids, I was her secretary. I had to go up and talk to the boys she wanted to go out with.” Busty Gianna, who you’d never know was a late bloomer, was a good girl, never on the receiving end of the negative rumors that were spread around her Catholic school in Narragansett, Rhode Island. According to her mother, only good rumors were spread about her. “You know what they say about some girls, that they’re ‘fast’?” says a clearly chagrined Gianna. “I remember Aunt Margie going to my mom and telling her there were rumors going around about me—that I was slow! Mom liked that.” Thanks in part to her sisters, who scarred her with ‘the talk’, Gianna felt smothered in her close-knit Italian household. Though she deeply loved her sisters, she wanted to make her own way in the world. “Growing up in a small town, a little sheltered, I didn’t have an outlet for my passion,” explains all-natural Miss Amore. “Now I feel beautiful, very sexy, excited—I want to show everyone what I’m capable of.” After moving around the country, the Italian-American found the perfect way to be in the spotlight of her own life—becoming a Playboy centerfold. “I never thought of myself as a Playmate of the Month¬—Playmates are gorgeous,” says our gorgeous yet modest Miss August 1989, who nevertheless tried out for Playmate without an appointment. In an obvious case of love at first sight, photographer Kim Mizuno took one look at Gianna and told her she was Playmate material. “I never felt so sexy before. It’s a wonderful feeling,” says Gianna. An up-and-coming model and actress, Miss Amore is more than her family’s lil’ prize—she is our stunning Miss August 1989.