The Playboy Playmates of 1979 captured the magazine at the close of the 70s, in a year that carried special anniversary weight and the warm, natural glamour of Playboy's late-decade style. The year opened with Candy Loving in January, Playboy's 25th Anniversary Playmate, followed by Lee Ann Michelle, Denise McConnell, Missy Cleveland, Michele Drake, and Louann Fernald. Together, the first half of the lineup reflected the magazine's classic 70s atmosphere: sunlit beauty, soft studio elegance, international accents, and a relaxed sensuality that felt sophisticated without losing its playful charm.
The second half of 1979 brought together Dorothy Mays, Dorothy Stratten, Vicki McCarty, Ursula Buchfellner, Sylvie Garant, and Candace Collins, giving the year a vivid mix of American glamour, Canadian beauty, European presence, and late-70s centerfold confidence. Ursula Buchfellner added a German note to the lineup, while Vicki McCarty later became known beyond modeling as Vicki Iovine, author of the Girlfriends' Guides series. Candace Collins closed the year with a strong Playboy legacy of her own, having also been a Playboy Bunny and a frequent Playboy cover figure.
One of the defining figures of the 1979 class was Dorothy Stratten, Playboy's August Playmate, who would later be named Playboy's 1980 Playmate of the Year and become one of the most remembered women in the magazine's history. Her beauty, Hollywood promise, and tragic story gave the 1979 lineup a lasting emotional weight beyond its anniversary glamour. Together, the Playboy Playmates of 1979 represented a stylish farewell to the 70s: elegant, natural, international in spirit, and full of the soft, confident allure that defined Playboy before the visual language of the 80s began to take over.
