Laura Cover never thought she’d become a model, let alone a Playmate – but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Growing up in Bucyrus, Ohio, blonde-haired Laura was raised on a steady diet of Christian family, Midwestern meat and potatoes, but when she entered her early twenties, she knew she wanted something more. On a whim, she traveled to Los Angeles and stepped right up to the plate at Playboy’s Studio West. “I actually just walked in,” she says. “I didn’t have modeling experience, but I didn’t want to get some from Joe Photographer, so I went to the Playboy studio by myself.” Laura’s bet paid off – one Polaroid later, we knew we’d found our Miss October 1998. Still a small-town girl at heart, Miss Cover is determined not to let newfound fame go to her head. “I grew up a tomboy,” she explains. “As I got older, I became more feminine. It’s a matter of how far you want to go – if you get too caught up, you lose who you are.” When she’s not in front of the camera, Laura spends her time doing charity work, raising money for underprivileged children, so we don’t think she’s in any danger of getting caught up in fame or fortune. “Life is short,” she says. “Work hard, always have fun and never take love for granted.”