Sharon Johansen Bio
Sharon Johansen is a Norwegian actress, glamour and nude model. She was born on October 11, 1948, in Oslo, Norway. Playboy named her its October 1972 Playmate at 23. Her appearance came during Playboy's 1970s print era, when the magazine reached the height of its mass-market influence.
Johansen has natural breasts, blue eyes and blond hair. Her measurements are 40-22-37.
Sharon Johansen had already discovered that conventional office life was not for her. Shortly after high school she worked as a receptionist for Pierre Salinger, the former White House press secretary, but found even interesting work frustrating when it kept her indoors. She wanted to set her own hours and spend more time outside, and an affection for animals eventually suggested an unconventional solution: professional dog training.
After taking a course, Johansen built a word-of-mouth business serving clients around Palos Verdes, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. She preferred going directly to owners’ homes and charged either by the hour or for a complete training course. One particularly agreeable client was Hugh Hefner’s Old English Sheepdog, Dog, whom she worked with on the wooded grounds of the Playboy Mansion. For Johansen, a workplace that might include a five-acre estate, a waterfall and an afternoon outdoors was considerably closer to the life she wanted than a reception desk.
Acting and modeling were already beginning to compete for her attention. Before photographer Alexas Urba shot her centerfold, Johansen had appeared on television in The Name of the Game and completed a role opposite Ron Leibman in Your Three Minutes Are Up, playing a beach girl who even shared her surname. The part suited someone who readily described herself as a beach girl in real life, while the Playboy assignment gave her modeling ambitions a much larger showcase.
More screen work followed. Johansen made guest appearances on Columbo, Barnaby Jones, Love, American Style, Flying High and Charlie’s Angels. Her film credits eventually included a small role as Mrs. Hartounian in The Jerk, the 1979 Steve Martin comedy. That same year she returned to Playboy for the “Playmates Forever!” pictorial, extending her connection with the magazine well beyond her original centerfold.
There is an appealing consistency to Johansen’s seemingly varied career. Receptionist, dog trainer, model and actress may not look like natural steps on a single ladder, but she had never wanted a ladder in the first place. She wanted independence, movement and work that kept changing around her—and for a while, Los Angeles provided all three.
