Valerie van der Graaf Bio
Valerie van der Graaf is a Dutch model, Playboy Playmate, fashion model, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model from Rotterdam, Netherlands. Born on February 12, 1992, under the sign of Aquarius, she entered the Playboy archive with an established international career and a presence defined by composure, openness, and distinctly European confidence.
Valerie van der Graaf became Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in August 2016, receiving the title at the age of 24. Her feature appeared in Playboy’s combined July/August 2016 issue, during the magazine’s brief non-nude period. The editorial direction suited Valerie’s fashion background, placing greater emphasis on mood, personality, and visual restraint than on the conventions of the traditional centerfold.
Her pictorial was photographed by David Bellemere. The images used natural light, water, and a relaxed coastal atmosphere to create a feature that felt polished without becoming overly constructed. Valerie’s blond hair, blue eyes, and graceful figure gave the photographs their immediate character, while her calm expression and physical ease kept the mood understated.
Born and raised in Rotterdam, Valerie entered modeling at approximately 15 after being discovered through the Dutch social network Hyves. Her mother initially helped manage the early stages of her career, and modeling soon took Valerie beyond the Netherlands into the international fashion market.
She developed a varied portfolio across editorial photography, advertising, swimwear, and commercial fashion. One of her earliest prominent assignments was the 2012 Lavazza Calendar, which brought her wider international attention. She later appeared in fashion publications and campaigns while working between European cities and establishing London as a professional base.
Valerie gained broader recognition as one of the rookies featured in the 2014 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Photographed in Brazil, the assignment placed her within one of the most visible swimwear editions in international publishing and introduced her to a wider American audience two years before her Playboy appearance.
Her original Playboy profile presented her as direct, widely travelled, and strongly attached to her Dutch identity. She spoke warmly about Rotterdam, describing its modern architecture and cultural openness, while distinguishing it from the more familiar international image of Amsterdam. Even after moving to London, the city remained the place she most readily called home.
Travel was one of the central pleasures of her modeling career. Valerie enjoyed discovering unfamiliar cities, but her profile also showed the importance of familiar routines: returning to Rotterdam, visiting friends and family, watching Feyenoord and Arsenal, following Eurovision, and settling into quieter weekends whenever work allowed.
That combination of international experience and local attachment gives Valerie van der Graaf’s biography its strongest shape. Her glamour feels cosmopolitan without becoming anonymous, informed by years of travel but anchored in a clear sense of origin. Her August 2016 Playboy feature captured precisely that balance: polished, relaxed, and confident enough to let restraint carry the image.
