Nichole Van Croft (b. November 5, 1973 in Jacksonville, Florida) was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in October 2000 and has appeared in numerous Playboy videos and Special Editions.
According to her Playmate Profile video, she claims to have been a tomboy growing up, sporting a crewcut until she was 11 or 12 years old. In high school, she played varsity volleyball and basketball. She even broke her collarbone playing football.
While eating pizza with her girlfriends after a night spent clubbing, she was approached by a Playboy photographer who gave Van Croft his card. The next day she called Playboy, made an appointment for a photo shoot and a week later she got the call from the magazine to become a Playmate.
In an appearance on Howard Stern in 2001, Van Croft claimed that soon after becoming a Playmate, Hugh Hefner asked her to move into his bedroom. She claims that when she refused, he cut her off from his personal life