The nudest Miss Holland…
“Hester Winkel is allowed to participate at the Miss Nederland pageant, even though she posed nude for Playboy magazine”
In our first summer special we look at those beauty queens who posed naked before or after their reign as a beauty queen. We will tell about the scandals and the consequences the nude pictures had on their beauty queen career.
Ada Grootenboer…
The first nude dutch beauty queen in history (as far as we know) is Ada Grootenboer (seen left), she was 2nd runner-up at the Miss Holland 1968 pageant and represented the Netherlands at the 1968 Miss World pageant. Ada posed for UK edition of Penthouse magazine and “Pet of the Month” in 1969. In 1970, the US edition also showed the same pictures of Ada. Ada did not suffer from the pictures. Later she became a photographer for the magazine Privé.
Playboy 1971…
“12 pages on the girls of Holland” can be read on the cover of US Playboy magazine, march 1971. In those days the girls did not always have to pose nude for the magazine. In this reportage we see three beauty queens. Two of them, Nanna Beetstra and Willy Leederkerke did not pose nude. Nanna was 3rd runner-up at the 1974 Miss Holland pageant and represented the Netherlands at the Miss International Beauty Pageant in the same year. Willy became 4th runner-up at the Miss Holland pageant two years later. Who also posed for this issue was Maureen Renzen, Miss Holland 1970. Maureen represented the Netherlands at the Miss Universe pageant. Maureen posed topless.
Maureen Renzen...
The Playboy shoot was just the start for Maureen to become an international glamour model. Penthouse magazine asked her to become “Pet of the Month” for both the US and the UK editions of the magazine. Maureen even toured around the States promoting the magazine. Beautiful Maureen posed for almost all the magazines like Revue, Panorama, de Lach, etc. in the Netherlands and was a very popular glamour model in those days. In the 80’s she started a modelling agency and in the dutch edition of Playboy in 1984 she posed in lingerie together with some of her models.
Dutch Playboy…
The first dutch playmate in the dutch edition of playboy magazine was Ellen Soeters (see right). Ellen was 4th runner-up at the 1975 Miss Holland pageant and represented the Netherlands at the Miss Young International pageant. In those days Ellen was a famous model in Germany, as she was “Frau Antje”. Frau Antje was the name for the girl who promoted dutch cheese in Germany in those days. Ellen still is very proud being the first dutch playmate in the dutch edition.
Miss Holland 1976, Lucy Visser posed twice for Playboy magazine as did Miss Nederland 1997, Sonja Silva. Miss Holland 1976 and 1984 participant, Wilma Bensink, posed in 1984 for the magazine. Nikkie Sengers, Playmate of the Month in 2007 participated at the Miss Universe Netherlands 2005 pageant and the Miss Earth Netherlands 2006 pageant. Patricia Brok, favorite to win the Miss Nederland 1993 pageant posed for the magazine in 1997. Patricia just ended as 1st runner-up but started a television career after the pageant. Touriya Haoud, 1st runner-up at the Miss Universe Netherlands 2001 pageant, posed for several men magazines like FHM and Maxim but the beautiful woman posed at her best for Playboy in 2005.
In the 80’s the two largest men magazines in the US organized an international beauty pageant. In 1987 Miss Playboy International was held in Hong Kong. All 14 foreign editions had a girl to represent their magazine and country. Luciënne Bruinooge, who participated in the 1982 Miss Holland pageant, represented the dutch edition. Although she was one of the favorites to win, she did not end in the top 3. Luciënne tried her luck in the movies but did not really succeed.
Scandal in the 80’s…
America had Vanessa Williams in 1985 and the Netherlands had Pasquale Somers also in 1985.
Only a few hours after the crowning of Pasquale as the Miss Holland 1985 the first rumors were spread about nude pictures of Miss Somers. The rumors were true, what was the case? Pasquale Somers, photographer Guy van Grunsven and magazine “Aktueel” made a plan on how to create a scandal at the Miss Holland pageant. The plan was like this: Pasquale Somers was shot nude and after the pageant, the photos would be published in the magazine “Aktueel”. In a contract it was written that the photos could also be published after an eventual first place at the pageant.
Pasquale won and when the Miss Holland committee heard about the nude pictures, they wanted to dethrone Miss Somers if the photos would be published. The parents of Pasquale accused the magazine, because their daughter was under aged when she signed the contract and wanted the pictures not to be published. The parents won the procedure and Pasquale could keep the title. Mandy Jacobs was already informed that there was a change that she would become Miss Holland, but in the end she stayed 1st runner-up.
Later that year, in october, Pasquale Somers was informed that because the committee could not rely on her, she lost her title again. The strange thing was that not 1st runner-up Mandy Jacobs was the new Miss Holland but the 1st runner-up of the Miss Holland 1982 pageant, Brigitte Bergman, was named Miss Holland 1985 as she was sent to the Miss World Pageant. Pasquale sued the Miss Holland committee and won. The problem was that Brigitte was already in London to represent the Netherlands at the Miss World pageant.
One of the other contestants of the Miss Holland 1985 pageant and 3rd runner-up, Bonita Baarda was disqualified because of a topless photo in the magazine “Panorama”. Bonita posed for the Panorama after a letter that was send to her that she was not chosen as one of the participants to compete in the Miss Holland pageant. She decided to enter the Miss Panorama pageant for which she had to pose topless. But on the day of the first meeting of the finalists she was still asked to enter the pageant. The Panorama published a very small photo 4 weeks after the pageant. Miss Baarda told the Miss Holland committee right away about the picture and they told Bonita not to worry. Bonita was very upset when later she had to read in a magazine that she was disqualified after all. Bonita gave her revenge by posing completely nude for the “Aktueel” (on the picture we see Bonita on the left and Pasquale on the right)
Not a Scandal in the 90’s…
In 1993 Angelique van Zalen won the Miss Universe Netherlands pageant. The organization was very lucky that the jury did not choose Hester van der Vliet, Miss Universe Gelderland as the winner of the pageant. Later that year a full nude pictorial was published in the dutch Penthouse. In 1997 Miss Universe Limburg 1993, Patricia Weerts posed for the dutch Playboy for a special on tall women.
Scandal in the 00’s…
In 2008 Carmen Kool became the first Miss World Netherlands. She would also have been the last but a nude publication in September 2009 in the dutch Playboy prevented that honor. On the question why she did it, she answered: “It is beautiful, chic; I have nothing to be ashamed of myself. I am Miss Netherlands; the people of the Netherlands are entitled to see me like this…”
At first the organization’s response was that they did not agree with the decision of Carmen to pose nude but that they would not dethrone her,but four days later they changed their opinion and named Leoni Tuip as Miss World Netherlands 2008 and that made her the last Miss World Netherlands. Unfortunately for Leonie, Carmen Kool had already represented the Netherlands at Miss World in 2008, and the organization lost its franchise, so Leonie stayed with empty hands.
2010…
“Hester Winkel is allowed to participate at the Miss Nederland pageant, even though she posed nude for Playboy magazine”. Hester Winkel, Miss Nederland 2010 candidate, was Playmate of the Month in the dutch Playboy at the time of the pageant. The organization was informed by Hester and they decided to let her stay in the pageant. Kim Kötter, franchise holder of the Miss Nederland: “The pictures are beautiful and we live in 2010!!”
Hester Winkel was not the first beauty queen, and she certainly will not be the last to pose nude. Times change and maybe this will not be an issue any more in the future…
