Valerie van der Graaf Bio
Valerie van der Graaf is a Dutch glamour and fashion model. She was born on February 12, 1992, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Playboy named her its August 2016 Playmate at 24. Her appearance came during Playboy's contemporary era of international and digital publishing.
van der Graaf has natural breasts, blue eyes and blond hair. Her measurements are 32-25-36.
Valerie van der Graaf entered modeling as a teenager after being discovered through the Dutch social network Hyves. The opportunity soon took her from the Netherlands to London, where she developed an international career spanning editorial fashion, advertising and swimwear. Early appearances included Grazia Italia and Marie Claire Greece, while her growing portfolio allowed her to work regularly beyond the Dutch market.
A particularly visible assignment arrived with the 2012 Lavazza Calendar, placing van der Graaf within the Italian coffee brand’s long-running series of elaborate fashion photographs. Two years later she crossed into another major publishing institution as a rookie in the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Photographed in Brazil, the feature introduced her to a considerably wider American audience before Playboy came calling.
Her commercial work continued alongside those editorial appearances. In 2015, van der Graaf was announced as the new face of French lingerie label Passionata, succeeding Bar Refaeli. Yet despite spending considerable time abroad and establishing London as a professional base, she remained strongly attached to Rotterdam. She spoke affectionately about its modern architecture and openness and followed Feyenoord as well as English club Arsenal.
Playboy paired van der Graaf with photographer David Bellemere for its combined July/August 2016 issue. Working during the magazine’s brief non-nude period, Bellemere used natural light, water and a coastal setting for a pictorial considerably closer to contemporary fashion photography than the traditional Playboy centerfold. That approach was particularly compatible with van der Graaf’s background in editorial, lingerie and swimwear modeling.
Travel remained one of the pleasures van der Graaf associated with her profession, although familiar routines retained their appeal between assignments. Returning to Rotterdam meant time with friends and family, football and quieter weekends; she also counted Eurovision among her interests. By her Playboy appearance, her record already connected several distinct corners of international publishing: the Lavazza Calendar in 2012, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2014, Passionata in 2015 and David Bellemere’s Playboy pictorial in 2016.
