Cooper Hefner

Last updated

Cooper Hefner
Cooper Hefner.jpg
Born
Cooper Bradford Hefner

(1991-09-04) September 4, 1991 (age 33)
Education Chapman University
OccupationBusinessman
Political party Democratic
Spouse
(m. 2019)
Children3
Parents
Relatives Christie Hefner (half-sister)
Military career
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg United States
Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee
Service/branch United States Air Force Tennessee State Guard
Years of service2019–present

Cooper Bradford Hefner (born September 4, 1991) is an American businessman. [1] [2] He has worked as the chief creative officer and chief of global partnerships at Playboy Enterprises, a company founded by his father Hugh Hefner. [3] [4] He was also founder and initial chief executive officer of the startup company Hop. [5]

Contents

Early life

Hefner was born on September 4, 1991, in Los Angeles, California, to Hugh Hefner (1926–2017) and Kimberley Conrad. [6] [7] He grew up in a mansion adjacent to the Playboy Mansion, which was purchased by his father after his parents separated. [8] Hefner graduated from Ojai Valley School in 2009 and received a bachelor's degree from Chapman University in 2015. [9] [10]

Career

Hefner started working for Playboy Enterprises, Inc. when he was in college. [11] In early 2016, Hefner, who was a board observer at the time, left the company due to disagreements with then CEO Scott Flanders about the direction the company was taking. [9] Hefner then began editing, writing and publishing op-eds, which centered on politics, culture and philosophy. [6]

In 2016, Hefner launched the media startup company Hop (Hefner Operations & Productions) focused on content and social events for millennials. [12] Hefner returned to Playboy and was named chief creative officer of the company in July 2016 when Hugh Hefner stepped down from that post. [4] [6] In February 2017, Hefner announced nude images would return to the magazine stating that the problem had been the presentation of nude images rather than the nudity itself. [9] Hefner also oversaw the decision to feature Playboy's first transgender playmate in the centerfold for its November issue. [13]

Playboy's earnings for 2017 increased by more than 39 percent year-over-year following Hefner's return to the company. [14] In January 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported the controlling shareholder of Playboy Enterprises was considering ending the U.S. print edition of Playboy Magazine, stating the magazine has lost as much as $7 million annually in recent years. [15] Hefner has been recognized on The Folio: 100 list for 2017 for his contributions to the magazine media industry as well as appearing on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2018. [14] [16]

In January 2019, Hefner took over as the chief of global partnerships for Playboy Enterprises. In that position, he would focus on revenue and business development over content and media management. [17] [18] In April 2019, Playboy Enterprises CEO Ben Kohn confirmed Hefner would exit his senior role at Playboy to launch a media brand, the Hefner Media Corporation, and a digital content platform called HefPost. [19] Later, through an Instagram account after having left Playboy, in July 2019 Hefner stated his new digital content platform would be called instead StagDaily. [20] [21]

In December 2019, Hefner halted plans to start a media company and digital content platform, and chose instead to enlist in the United States Air Force. [22] Hefner was previously a member of the California State Military Reserve. [23] Hefner was deployed stateside to New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst for Operation Allies Welcome, which supported resettlement of approximately 130,000 refugees airlifted from Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. [24]

Personal life

In 2015, Hefner became engaged to British actress Scarlett Byrne, best known for her role as student Pansy Parkinson in the Harry Potter series. [7] On November 4, 2019, Hefner and Byrne announced that they had married. [20] On August 24, 2020, Byrne gave birth to their first daughter. [25] On March 26, 2022, she gave birth to twin daughters. [26]

Hefner is a teacher at Chapman University, where he also serves on the board of governors. [27] [28]

Hefner considered running for Congress in California's 37th congressional district in 2016. [10] In July 2020, Hefner announced his campaign as a Democrat for the California Senate in 2022, in the state's 30th District, but suspended it four months later. [29] [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Hefner</span> American magazine publisher (1926–2017)

Hugh Marston Hefner was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the Playboy brand into a world network of Playboy Clubs. He also resided in luxury mansions where Playboy Playmates shared his wild partying life, fueling media interest.

<i>Playboy</i> American lifestyle and entertainment magazine

Playboy is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and online since 2020. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playboy Mansion</span> Former home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner and recent new founder Anthony Bruno

The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who lived there from 1971 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, near Beverly Hills. From the 1970s onward, the mansion became the location of lavish parties held by Hefner which were often attended by celebrities and socialites. It is currently owned by Daren Metropoulos, the son of billionaire investor Dean Metropoulos, and is used for corporate activities. It also serves as a location for television production, magazine photography, charitable events, and civic functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christie Hefner</span> American businesswoman

Christie Ann Hefner is an American businesswoman. She was chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises from 1988 to 2009, and is the daughter of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A&E (TV network)</span> American cable and satellite television channel

A&E is an American basic cable network and the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, dramas, and educational entertainment. Today, the network deals primarily in non-fiction programming, including reality docusoaps, true crime, documentaries, and miniseries.

<i>Playboy</i> Playmate Female model featured in a centerfold of Playboy magazine

A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and turn-offs. At the end of the year, one of the 12 Playmates of the Month is named Playmate of the Year (PMOTY). Every Playmate of the Month is awarded a prize of US$25,000 and each Playmate of the Year receives an additional prize of US$100,000 plus a car and other discretionary gifts. In addition, Anniversary Playmates are usually chosen to celebrate a milestone year of the magazine. The use of the word "Playmate" in a sexual sense did not originate with Playboy, and was seen at least as early as 1950 in Vue magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PLBY Group</span> US global media and lifestyle company

PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the Playboy magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California.

Kimberley Conrad is an American model. She was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month in January 1988 and became Playmate of the Year 1989. Conrad was Hugh Hefner's second wife and is mother to two of his four children. In 2017, at the age of 55, she duplicated her Playmate of the Year cover along with Renee Tenison, Candace Collins, Lisa Matthews, Cathy St. George, Charlotte Kemp, and Monique St. Pierre nearly three decades on.

Hef or HEF may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbi Benton</span> American retired model, actress and singer

Barbi Benton is an American former model, actress, television personality, and singer. She appeared in Playboy magazine, as a regular on the comedy series Hee Haw, and recorded several moderately successful albums in the 1970s. After the birth of her first child in 1986, Benton retired from show business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holly Madison</span> American television personality (born 1970s)

Holly Madison is an American television personality, best known as a former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner and for her appearance in the reality television show The Girls Next Door. She also starred in her own reality series, Holly's World, which ran from 2009 to 2011. She has released two books, Down the Rabbit Hole in 2015, about her life in the Playboy Mansion and her relationship with Hefner, and The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice, and the Road to Reinvention in 2016.

<i>The Girls Next Door</i> American reality television series

The Girls Next Door is a reality television series which focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion. The series was created by executive producer Kevin Burns and Hefner, founder of Playboy magazine. The series premiered on the E! cable network on August 7, 2005 and ran for 6 seasons. The first five seasons centered around then-girlfriends, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. The sixth and final season premiered on October 11, 2009 and introduced Hefner's new girlfriends, Crystal Harris, who eventually went on to marry Hefner, and twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon.

<i>Oui</i> (magazine) Adult pornographic magazine

Oui was a men's adult pornographic magazine published in the United States and featuring explicit nude photographs of models, with full page pin-ups, centerfolds, interviews and other articles, and cartoons. Oui ceased publication in 2007.

Victor Aubrey Lownes III was an executive for HMH Publishing Company Inc., later known as Playboy Enterprises, from 1955 through the early 1980s. Soon after he met Hugh Hefner in 1954, Hefner founded Playboy magazine, and Lownes eventually joined his publishing company, serving as vice president. Lownes was a close confidant of Hefner and gained a reputation for dating Playboy Playmates.

Sondra Theodore is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its July 1977 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Ken Marcus. Her Playmate pictorial was the first to include the Data Sheets that Playmates had been filling out since 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendra Wilkinson</span> American television personality (born 1985)

Kendra Leigh Wilkinson is an American television personality and real estate agent. She first gained recognition as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends and for her role on the E! reality television series The Girls Next Door (2005–2009), on which her life in the Playboy Mansion was documented. Although not a Playboy Playmate, she has appeared in three nude pictorials with her Girls Next Door co-stars Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt. She subsequently starred in her own reality shows, Kendra (2009–2011) and Kendra on Top (2012–2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlett Byrne</span> English actress (born 1990)

Scarlett Hannah Hefner is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Slytherin student Pansy Parkinson in the Harry Potter series, and as Nora Hildegard in The Vampire Diaries.

References

  1. Kari Hamanaka. "Cooper Hefner, Modern Day Playboy".
  2. "Hugh Hefner's Son Steps Down From Media Company, Enlists In Air Force | U.S. Veterans Magazine". December 14, 2019.
  3. Wile, Rob (September 28, 2017). "Meet Cooper Hefner, the 26-Year-Old Heir to the Playboy Empire". Money.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Staff writer (September 29, 2017). "High Hefner's youngest son to take over million-dollar Playboy Empire". News Corp Australia Network. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  5. Tavana, Art (July 21, 2016). "Can Cooper Hefner Make Playboy Cool Again? We're About to Find Out". LA Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Millington, Alison (September 28, 2017). "The insane life of 26-year-old Cooper Hefner, son of the late Playboy millionaire". Business Insider. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Cooper Hefner Engaged to Falling Skies Actress Scarlett Byrne – See Her Massive Ring!". Us Magazine. August 6, 2015.
  8. "Hugh Hefner's son reveals what it was like growing up in the Playboy Mansion". Business Insider. December 26, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Baum, Gary (August 24, 2017). "The Next Hef: Hugh's 25-Year-Old Son Reveals Plan to Remake Playboy 'For My Generation'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Ziv, Stav (September 28, 2017). "Who Is Cooper Hefner? Hugh's Son Doesn't Respect Trump And Is Revamping 'Playboy' For New Generations". Newsweek. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  11. Staff writer (November 29, 2012). "Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner Talks Life and Company". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  12. "A Speakeasy Night By Hop Media". Red Hot Retro. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  13. Salam, Maya (October 19, 2017). "Playboy to Feature Its First Transgender Playmate". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Cooper Hefner, 26". Forbes.
  15. Alpert, Lukas I. (January 1, 2018). "Playboy Might Kill Magazine to Focus on 'World of Playboy'". Wall Street Journal via www.wsj.com.
  16. "The Folio: 100 Awards". Folio Magazine.
  17. "Cooper Hefner takes over as Chief, Global Partnership".
  18. "Meredith Appoints New Chief Strategy Officer | People on the Move". Folio. January 10, 2019.
  19. "Cooper Hefner Exits Playboy Role to Launch Millennial-Focused Website HefPost". The Hollywood Reporter. April 12, 2019.
  20. 1 2 "Cooper Hefner Marries Girlfriend Scarlett Byrne". The Hollywood Reporter . November 4, 2019.
  21. "We ran into issues with HefPost due to HuffPost and challenges with Hefner Post due to the Hugh M. Hefner Foundation structured to continue its work combating social injustice. We have finally landed on a new name. We look forward to introducing Stag Daily in the months ahead". Instagram . Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  22. "Hugh Hefner's Son Joins Air Force". Fox News. December 18, 2019.
  23. Millington, Allison (March 21, 2013). "The insane life of 26-year-old Cooper Hefner, son of the late Playboy millionaire". Business Insider . Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  24. Virginia Chamlee (November 3, 2021). "Cooper Hefner on Recent Deployment to Help Resettle Afghan Refugees: 'Bright Days Ahead'". People.com.
  25. "Hugh Hefner's Son Cooper and Harry Potter Star Scarlett Byrne Welcome Daughter Betsy Rose". People. Meredith Corporation. August 25, 2020.
  26. Howie, Michael (March 29, 2022). "Harry Potter star Scarlett Byrne welcomes twin daughters with husband Cooper Hefner". Evening Standard . Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  27. Hefner, Cooper [@cooperhefner] (November 5, 2018). "It's an honor and a real treat being invited to return to Chapman University @ChapmanU not as a student this time around, but as a faculty member. I look forward to teaching evening classes beginning next year at my alma mater" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022 via Twitter.
  28. Gardner, Chris (March 10, 2020). "Cooper Hefner and Wife Scarlett Expecting First Child". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  29. Alison Kosik (July 13, 2020). "Cooper Hefner, son of Playboy founder, announces campaign for California Senate". CNN. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  30. Hefner, Cooper [@cooperhefner] (November 30, 2020). "Today we are suspending our California State Senate exploratory campaign in light of another service commitment. I remain committed to working towards build a better government and society. 1/2" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022 via Twitter.

Further reading