#5 - Elisa Bridges

Kicking off our top five is an unforgettable and momentous Playmate who was a true fan favorite as well as a revolutionary shift towards new trends that still exist today. In the mid 1990's, Playmates were big-breasted in a time right after the 80's, where big hair and makeup ruled. The ideals from that time were still fresh into 1994, where girls including Neriah Davis, Elan Carter, Maria Checa, and our #16 Kelly Gallagher came out to support a good group of girls. Look at girls today, however, and the one Playmate from that year sticks out: Elisa Bridges, Miss December 1994.

Elisa was important because she marked the first real shift towards Playmates of the modern era. Before her, many Playmates were infused with plastic surgery or chosen based on their bust size rather than their talents and attitudes. Enter the stunning Miss Bridges, a new and interesting Playmate, 21 years of age from Texas. She was quite the personality, immediately grabbing the camera's attention with each and every shot and delighting fans old and new. Elisa was also a different archetype of a Playmate: slim, small-breasted, long hair, exotic looks, and a totally new package altogether. Elisa laid the blueprint for modern Playmates who sport a more natural look, refined with personality and talent. Her extensive collection of photos and unique talent for raw, sexual posing made her a true classic, and worthy of a position atop the Playmate hierarchy as a real, bona fide classic.

Loads of photos were taken of Elisa in different scenes, and each one of them can be seen as a piece of art, because of just how much skill and radiance went into each one. She begins her pictorial with really spicy and physical shot like this one, the kinds of photos that made her a star. One of her best pictorials is her "wet hosedown" series, which starts with this photo, a great vantage point of her long, leggy frame. It then moves on to this awesome sight, where Elisa's unique posing style also shows her hot tan lines and landing-strip pubic hair. You'll immediately notice that Elisa's body is wholly unlike any other you'd ever see, and certainly very arousing.

Skip forward a bit, and you see a different side of Elisa, the cute, wholesome girl-next-door, which is accomplished so well by her unassuming body and soft facial features. This photo is a great example of how Elisa can "mix it up" with intermittent photos that come off as incredibly natural and transitional. She throws in a photo where she doesn't try too hard, and it's more beautiful than ever. In another pictorial set, Elisa jumps in the car, and shows off a pose that gives a sense of her petite frame (107 lbs.) as well as her submissive side. She then goes ahead with this look towards the camera, with a pants-less pose that really perks up the imagination.

If you really look at it, Elisa's body is absolutely perfect. It's so smooth and sleek, like a sports car. It's not outrageous like a Van Croft, but it's fantastic in its own way. Her legs are long, her torso is short, her body is slim, and she's quite tall for her weight (5' 6"). She doesn't have a Jodi Ann Paterson butt or Jaime Bergman breasts, but those girls also can't hit poses this perfectly. Just look at the lighting on those legs! Or those eyes! She can shoot off a look like the best of them. Or how about this simple, classy shot, showing off her fluffy blond locks and those ruby red lips? Look at that smooth skin, almost palpable.

Elisa then starts to close off her pictorial in a very strong way. This hot shot from behind the wheel is softly lit and very hot. Elisa doesn't have to do much to look amazing in photos like that one. Then, in a wet and wild finish, Elisa starts hosing herself down, and looks absolutely stunning in this photo, with the sunset softly lighting up her glistening skin. And when she's tearing off that swimsuit, she leaves us with a sexual, lasting impression that screams passion.

There is, and never will be, another girl like Elisa Bridges. The unfortunate news of her untimely death from a drug overdose in 1992 left many Playboy fans mourning for a girl who truly impacted the perception of Playmates into the 21st century. Elisa signaled a true rebirth in the philosophy of how Playmates are chosen: silicone and makeup do not make a truly beautiful women. It takes true beauty and imagination to build a great Playmate, and that's why Elisa was such a poignant symbol of the times. She did it all without massive breasts or outrageous features... she just took her naturally amazing looks and bared it all, very honestly, in each and every photograph.

Her legend and status was only strengthened by her early demise, but the memories of her beauty still live on, and make her one of the true greats in Playboy lore.