Biography of Kendra Leigh Wilkinson
 Kendra Wilkinson was born in San Diego, California and is of English descent.
She is the elder of two children; her younger brother is Colin. Her mother, Patti,
was originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and had been a cheerleader for the
Philadelphia Eagles. Her father, Eric, left her family when she was four. Her
grandmother is named Mary Stotz. Wilkinson grew up in Clairemont, a middle-class
community in central San Diego, and attended Clairemont High School, from which
she graduated in 2003. She played softball for six years with the Clairemont Bobby
Sox.
Career
Wilkinson met Hugh Hefner at his 78th birthday party in April 2004, where she
was hired to be one of the "painted girls" (women who are nude except
for painted-on accessories). Hefner had apparently seen her picture, shot by
photographer Kim Riley, on a fax machine at the Playboy Mansion and wanted to
know who she was. Shortly after they met, Hefner asked Wilkinson to be one of
his girlfriends and he moved her into the Playboy Mansion along with her dogs
Raskal and Martini.
She was featured on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door, which
followed the lives of Hefner's then girlfriends, which, as well as Wilkinson,
included Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. She moved out of the Playboy Mansion
in 2009 and has filmed her own spin-off reality show for E! called Kendra. It
will follow her in her new life living alone, planning her wedding, etc.
Wilkinson has made several cameos on different programs such as Las Vegas and
Entourage. She also appeared in Akon's music video "Smack That". While
on the set of the video, Eminem poured a bottle of water on her head, sparking
an altercation. The incident was discussed on The Girls Next Door. In 2006,
she appeared in the Playboy Special Editions Sexy 100. In 2007, she appeared
in Nickelback's music video of "Rockstar", along with Girls Next Door
co-stars, Madison and Marquardt. They also had a cameo role in the 2006 film
Scary Movie 4. Wilkinson also showed her creative side as a rapper on MTV's
Celebrity Rap Superstar which debuted on August 30, 2007. She rapped to Ludacris’
"Fantasy", in response to the question asked by the show's host, "Can
Kendra move her mouth as fast as she moves her booty?". She went on to
take second place, losing to Shar Jackson.
Wilkinson's stated career goal is to become a massage therapist or sports announcer.
In December 2005, she became a regular "blogger" columnist at the
website of the Philadelphia Eagles a team for which her mother had been a professional
cheerleader and her fiance plays for.
Wilkinson stars in a spinoff of Girls Next Door, titled simply Kendra, which
focuses on her life after leaving the Playboy Mansion and getting engaged to
Philadelphia Eagles receiver Hank Baskett. The Girls Next Door executive producer
Kevin Burns serves in the same capacity on the series. Kendra premiered on June
7 2009, and had record breaking numbers for E! with 2.6 million viewers, and
was the highest-rated reality debut for the network since 2002's premiere of
The Anna Nicole Show. To date, E! has ordered eight episodes.
Personal life
On August 13, 2008, the Wall Street Journal front page reported that she was
the Italian restaurant chain Olive Garden's "Biggest Celebrity Fan".
Wilkinson has described Olive Garden's cuisine as "my soul food".
The newspaper emphasized that her repeated enthusiastic public endorsements
of the family restaurant are genuine, personal and are not tied to any payment
from Olive Garden. In fact, the company was reported as viewing Wilkinson's
endorsements with "mixed feelings" which it was reluctant to comment
on since the restaurant's reputation is family friendly.
According to an episode of The Girls Next Door, she lost her virginity at 14.
On September 22, 2008, the International Business Times reported that Wilkinson
was engaged to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett. Wilkinson denied
being engaged in a blog entry on her official MySpace page, but on October 7,
2008, in an interview on Chelsea Lately, admitted she was in a relationship
with Baskett. On November 6, 2008, E! Online announced Wilkinson and Baskett
were engaged, after he proposed the previous Saturday at the Space Needle in
Seattle, Washington. Although, it was initially announced that Hugh Hefner will
give the bride away in a wedding ceremony to be celebrated at the Playboy Mansion
on June 27, 2009, Wilkinson has since stated that she is having second thoughts
about having Hefner walk her down the aisle.
On June 10, 2009 Wilkinson announced that she and fiance Hank Baskett are expecting
their first child together. According to Wilkinson, the baby is due on Christmas
Day. Reports also claim that Bridget Marquardt will be hosting the baby shower.
While Wilkinson is expected to have a baby shower in Los Angeles, Holly Madison
wants to throw her a second shower in Las Vegas. Wilkinson told E! News that
Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner will be the godfather of the baby-on-the-way. "He
was like, 'Oh my god!' and then he cried... Hef will be the godfather,"
Wilkinson said. Full name: Kendra Leigh Wilkinson
Born: June 12, 1985
Father: Eric Wilkinson
Mother: Patti Wilkinson
Birthplace: San Diego, California, USA
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