Deborah Driggs

Deborah Driggs is all about the letter D—she’s dominant and driven. “I'm also daring,” adds our Miss March 1990. “There's not a lot I haven't done, but if you have any ideas, try me.” The green-eyed beauty from Oakland, California is a former junior figure skater, and when she was younger, she impressed judges and coaches alike around the Los Angeles area with her skill and determination. Miss Driggs would wake up at 4am every day for skating practice. On any given weekday, she’d skate until 7:30am, then rush to get to class before the bell. Between skating practice and school, Deborah barely had time to get dressed, and oftentimes, she would get dressed in the backseat of the family car as her mother drove her to class. “Mom would tell me when a truck was coming, so I could cover up,” remembers Deborah. Long practices, endless competitions and the anxiety that came with it taught Deborah about other words that start with D—draining and demanding. Miss Driggs decided she’d had enough and walked away from her skating career—but without hours spent on the rink, our Playmate found herself with a lot of free time on her hands. She became restless and wanted to explore her newfound freedom. “When something that used to take up all your time stops, you have to search for something new,” says dark-haired Deborah. “I did a little drinking. I even tried drugs. That wasn't for me. So I decided to go all out for life.” Emboldened, Deborah turned to modeling. After her first gig, a commercial for a Japanese product, she was hooked. “Dressing up, living in an imaginative world—that’s what I want to do from now on,” says the former homecoming queen. As her career picked up speed, her desire for fame and fortune only grew, and Miss Driggs decided to take up acting. “I don't want to sound like every other young actor and say I am going to win an Oscar,” says our Playmate of the Month. “I mean, I know I've got a lot of work ahead of me. But you never know if you don't try, right?” If Deborah somehow doesn’t win an Oscar, she has a plan B. “I'm an optimist,” she says confidently. “If I don’t win one, I'll name my first kid Oscar!” The single most defining word for Deborah Driggs, another that begins with D? Darling.