Scandinavia has given us some good things – snowy weather, good design and spa treatments, to name a few – but by far, the greatest is silvery blonde Victoria Silvstedt. Born in Skellefteå, Sweden, near the Arctic Circle, Victoria was raised the middle child in a family of five, and she competed with the youth division of Sweden’s National Ski Team. Victoria’s Olympic aspirations were lost when an accident and shoulder injury ended her career at the age of sixteen – but ever resourceful, she turned her attention to a modeling career. “The world thinks everyone in Sweden is tall and blonde,” she muses. “When I was younger, I was shy and had low self-confidence. Because of my career, I started to like my body, and today I’m very proud of it.” Indeed she should be – Victoria’s exemplary sexy body won her a Miss Sweden pageant, contracts with Chanel and Christian Dior, and finally, the attention of one Mr. Hugh Hefner. It wasn’t long before she was our Miss December 1996, and a shoe-in for Playmate of the Year 1997. In addition to English and her native Swedish, PMOY Victoria is a fluent speaker of French, and lived in Paris as one of France’s most-revered models. “I adore Paris,” she says, “But I wasn’t where I wanted to be. The whole world watches America, and everything comes from America – fashion, music, movies and TV.” With Playboy, Miss Silvstedt achieved her number-one goal – within hours of her pictorial’s publication, her photos were all over the Internet and she had a dedicated American fan club. It’s no wonder she became Playmate of the Year. “I’m so happy I can’t stop smiling,” says Victoria. “I want to make all of Sweden proud of me!” First Scandinavia, and then the world – Victoria’s taken it all by storm.