Claire Sinclair Interview

Claire Sinclair has had an exciting year! It was recently announced that the 20-year-old pinup model was chosen to be Playboy’s 2011 Playmate of the Year, giving her a 10-page pictorial in the magazine's June issue. She was also recently named official spokesmodel for Bettie Page clothing. Claire recently caught up with TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Stephanie Tardugno to discuss her new titles!

TheCelebrityCafe.com: Well first off, congratulations on being named Playmate of the Year! How does that feel?

Claire Sinclair: It’s really cool because when I was Playmate of the Month, I felt like I only had a month to do everything that I wanted to do with the title. And now, it’s kind of extended into a year, and it’s just kind of widened the role of possibilities for me. It’s awesome, that I have a whole year to do all of my goals and to achieve more things.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: That’s really exciting! And you’re so young! How does it feel to have accomplished so much at only 20 years old?

Claire Sinclair: It’s really weird! I think about it sometimes…I sit and think, and I could never imagine that just a couple years ago, when I was in high school, that this is what I’d be doing right after high school. This was not something that I could’ve predicted, and I am so blessed. I really count my blessings everyday, and I really realize that it’s not the norm, and that I got incredibly lucky.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: I know that you’re also a pinup model. How long have you been doing that, and how did you get involved?

Claire Sinclair: I always wanted to model. When I was about 14, I was super thin. I was about the same height I am now, I’m 5’7 and a half, and I was about 100 pounds. I was going through that gawky stage where I was going through growth spurts, and I was just really tiny. And I thought, “I’m just a half an inch of being the required height of being a model,” 5’8 is the height that you have to be to get signed with a lot of agencies. So I would always get booked for these meetings with agencies, and then once I would get to the agency, they would do the height requirement, and said you don’t reach the requirement…it’s either 5’8 or 5’9. So I kept getting rejected from all of these agencies.

At one of the meetings, I saw a couple of the programs that the managers that I went to go see were on. And I went back home, and I went on those programs, and I acted as my own agent when I was 14 and 15. I started booking myself jobs on all of the websites that those managers used. And I have jet black hair, I dyed my hair black, and I noticed that the jobs that I would get booked for always had a vintage theme. It was always like a given – if I went to a job for a regular teen job, I usually didn’t get it, but if it had a pinup vibe to it, like a 1950s style jean company, I would book it in a second. So I thought, this is my niche. If I just keep doing pinup things, I think that I’ll be successful. So I went with that, because I noticed that that is what I kept getting hired for.

So, that’s kind of how I got into pinup. And then my dad introduced me to this pinup artist, Olivia De Berardinis, who does a pinup installment for Playboy every month. He asked if she was interested in painting me, and she asked how old I was. I was freshly 18, and she said, “Maybe in a couple years. Come back to me in a couple years.” And I said, well I’ve been modeling since I was 14! So she said alright, we’ll see how you do, and we’ll do a test shoot with you. So I test shot with her, and she decided that she wanted to paint me that night, and she’s on her 7th painting of me now! And after we did our test shoot together, she asked me, “How would you like to come up to the Playboy Mansion and meet Hugh Hefner,” and I said I would love to! So I went with her a week after I met her to go to the Mansion, and then I met Hef, and Hef asked for my name and number. And the rest is history. He asked me to test shoot as Playmate, and then I got Playmate. You know it’s crazy, things happen very very fast!

TheCelebrityCafe.com: Sounds like it! And now you’re the official spokesmodel for Bettie Page clothing, right?

Claire Sinclair: Yes, I am! That happened about right after I did Crazy Horse Paris in October at the MGM. It was funny, because for the premiere of Crazy Horse, I walked into the Bettie Page store and thought, “These clothes are perfect. I want everything in here!” And I couldn’t afford everything. Then literally a week later, I get asked to represent the company and be the spokesmodel! Now I own everything Bettie Page clothing has to offer! And I’m just so blessed. Their clothes are amazing! They have the perfect 1950s replica clothes, and I’m very happy to work for them.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: What’s it like working for them? What type of duties do you have?

Claire Sinclair: I go to a lot of events, and I wear their latest clothing. Tatyana, the designer, just put out two different lines. So I’ve been modeling those at different events. I basically just talk about what is going on in the company, and I rock their clothing. It couldn’t be a better gig because I think it’s a perfect match! If there were any clothing line in the world I’d want to work for it’d be the Bettie Page clothing line.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: So any upcoming plans?

Claire Sinclair: I’m going to New York, and I’m going to do the cover of Steppin’ Out magazine which is really cool. And I’m doing the Howard Stern show, which is kind of interesting! I’m kind of scared about it, but I’m really excited. I’ve been a fan of his forever! And I’m staying busy with the Bettie Page stores. They’re opening a new one in the Mall of America. I’ll be there in a couple weeks, doing the opening of that!