Marianne Gravatte

Meet Marianne Gravatte, a voluptuous blonde with striking blue eyes and an all-natural figure that has been known to cause road accidents—especially with motorcycles. Upon winning Playmate of the Year for 1983, Marianne was presented with a $100,000 check from Playboy and a lovely Porsche 928S. She cannot get enough of feeling of her blonde curls dancing in the wind as she speeds along the Los Angeles freeways. Surprisingly though, our Playmate of the Year isn’t a fan of receiving attention, but when you put a hot blonde Playmate in a sports car, attention is bound to happen. “I try not to make eye contact, but, sometimes you can’t avoid it. Then it encourages them and it’s all over,” says our very timid Miss October 1982. “Being the center of attention makes me nervous.” Believe it or not, the beautiful model with a chin dimple, has witnessed a motorcyclist crash from staring at her instead of watching the road and she’s seen another drive into a ditch after attempting to locate his business card so he could take our Playmate out. “Right now, I'm the least shy I've ever been in my life. There was a time when if I didn't know a phone number, I would be too embarrassed to call Information,” explains Marianne. “At school, I would never do an oral book report. I'd arrange to be absent on that day. But gradually, I'm getting out of it. Every job I do now gets a little easier for me.” Our Miss 1983 is as soft-spoken and shy as they come, so much so that when she received the call from Playboy congratulating her on her Playmate of the Year win, she asked us if we were sure we made the right choice. “I didn’t believe it. I didn’t expect it,” recalls the stunned model. “I was happy, of course, because I had been hoping for it and doing my best to get it.” Miss Gravatte was a simple and very quiet California girl who spent her days feeding her seven cats and two birds before Playboy entered her life. Now, Marianne, who had never been outside of her home state before, is enjoying the changes she’s gone through. “I had to get over my shyness. I had no choice!” explains our Playmate who recently appeared on the cover of the Mexican edition Vogue. “I figured, for once in my life, I'm going to take a chance!” What’s next for our new and improved Miss 1983—adventure, of course. “I’ve always wanted to go to Australia, so that’s a possibility. Or maybe a cruise. But first, I have to take care of home base,” she says. The land Down Under will just have to wait a little longer before receiving Marianne Gravatte.