Carmen Electra returns to Playboy at 54 and opens up about dating
Three decades on from Playboy's 1996 feature, the cultural conversation about women and age in entertainment has grown louder. Carmen Electra's appearance in the magazine's Summer 2026 issue, her first since that debut, lands…
Key takeaways
- Carmen Electra, now 54, returns to Playboy in the Summer 2026 issue, her first appearance since her 1996 debut.
- Electra says she is open to love and ready to date again, having reflected on what she wants in a partner.
- She is open to dating someone younger, values character and shared interests, and says she earns her own money and isn't seeking a provider.
- Electra has been married twice: to Dennis Rodman (1998-1999) and to Dave Navarro (2003, divorce finalized 2007).
- She says confidence comes from working and staying busy rather than from romantic attachment.
Three decades on from Playboy's 1996 feature, the cultural conversation about women and age in entertainment has grown louder. Carmen Electra's appearance in the magazine's Summer 2026 issue, her first since that debut, lands squarely in that shift. The actress and model, now 54, says she is open to love again.
Electra was 24 when she first appeared in the magazine. For the current issue, she posed in fishnets and answered reader questions about relationships. She told Fox News Digital she is ready to date and has given real thought to what she is looking for.
What she wants in a partner
She still likes a man with an edge, she said, but would welcome what she calls a dad type. She has experience with that: she dated a man who had a daughter, grew close to the daughter, and says the experience clarified that she could build something with someone who already has children. That relationship ended.
She is open to someone younger. She earns her own money and says she is not looking for a partner who provides it. Gifts are welcome but not the point. She cares about character and shared interests, with enough difference between them that each has something to learn from the other. She cited an idea she finds useful: two people who are too similar leave one of them unnecessary.
Two marriages, two endings
Electra has been married twice. She wed former NBA star Dennis Rodman in November 1998. Rodman filed for an annulment nine days after the ceremony, the couple reconciled, and Electra filed for divorce in April 1999. She married Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro in 2003; they separated in 2006, and the divorce was finalized in 2007.
She has the word "love" tattooed on her wrist and describes it as a long-held conviction.
Her message to women who assume age narrows their room in the entertainment industry: reject the premise. On confidence, she is specific: it comes from being busy, from working, not from romantic attachment. She has read Buddhist literature and credits a youthful inner spirit for keeping her present. "When I'm working, I'm really happy," she told Fox News Digital.
The Summer 2026 Playboy issue is on sale now.
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