Anna Nicole Smith Friendship Led Playboy Star to New Life

Clear Facts

• Sandra Taylor credits Anna Nicole Smith with encouraging her to pursue a modeling career that led to Playboy.
• Taylor later became the head sommelier at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, after losing her home in the 2025 Palisades Fire.
• Hugh Hefner once called Taylor his “most sexy model” according to Traci Bingham.

Sandra Taylor credits her friendship with Anna Nicole Smith for launching her into the world of modeling and Playboy. The two shared makeup artists and became close when Smith arrived from Texas needing a place to stay. A visit to Smith on the set of “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” led to the opportunity that changed Taylor’s path.

“I was friends with Anna Nicole Smith, and she was such a darling,” Taylor recalled. “We shared two makeup artists. One was in New York, one was in LA. And they introduced us very, very early on to her coming here from Texas, and we became friends. She needed a place to stay when she first came out here.”

Before modeling, Taylor had studied mathematics and planned to follow in her father’s footsteps. After his sudden death on her college campus, she abandoned those plans and embraced a different future. The modeling world opened doors she never expected as a teenager studying macroeconomics and statistics.

“It was my friendship with Anna Nicole Smith … it led me right there,” said Taylor. “I never, in a million years growing up, thought I would ever be in Playboy.”

Taylor described Smith as a sweet young woman who loved her son and wanted to be a good mother. Their friendship ended with Smith’s death in 2007 at age 39. Taylor remembers her fondly and credits that connection with opening the door to Playboy.

“I remember how sweet she was,” said Taylor. “She was really, really a sweet girl and loved her son so much. She really wanted to be a great mom. She was really a sweetheart, just a really nice girl. I don’t think she could hurt a fly.”

The modeling career led to other opportunities, including work with director Garry Marshall and appearances alongside actors like Steven Seagal and Robert De Niro. Taylor also dated Fabio and appeared on numerous romance novel covers with him. She recalled Hefner as a kind man whose laughter she still misses.

“Even when you do the magazine, it doesn’t end there,” Taylor explained. “Hef opens up his home for years to come. … Because I was good friends with Kimberley, his wife, I was able to fly on their jet. I was able to really experience him as a family man, and how kind he was, too. I loved his laugh.”

Years later, Taylor learned through Traci Bingham that Hefner had called her his “most sexy model.” She also discovered that Dan Aykroyd paid for her SAG card for her first film, a gesture she still remembers with gratitude.

“Steven Seagal was really kind to me,” said Taylor. “He was a real gentleman to me. Every time I went to audition, and it was multiple times, there were more beautiful women. The rooms were just packed with beautiful women. I just braced myself. But he was so professional.”

Today Taylor serves as head sommelier at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and helped create Raider Rosé. After losing her home of 24 years in the 2025 Palisades Fire, she continues to rebuild and remains grateful for the life she has led.

“I’m proud of the life I’ve led,” said Taylor. “I’ve faced ups and downs, but I’ve been blessed. And I’m always ready for what life throws at me.”

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