Nichole Van Croft — Biography
In her video interview from her Playmate profile, she described having a masculine appearance during childhood, including wearing her hair very short until reaching early adolescence. During her high school years, she participated competitively in volleyball and basketball at the varsity level. She sustained a broken collarbone while playing football, an injury that occurred during her athletic pursuits. While spending time with friends at a pizzeria following an evening out at clubs, a photographer representing Playboy approached her and offered his contact information. She telephoned Playboy the following day to arrange a photo session, and within seven days she received notification that she had been selected as a Playmate. She earned the title of Playmate of the Month for October 2000 and participated in various Playboy filmed productions. Her image also appeared in publications including Maxim, FHM, and Stuff. In 2003, she publicly identified as lesbian, becoming the first centerfold to do so, though she would later marry two men. During a 2001 appearance on Howard Stern's radio program, she stated that Hugh Hefner had requested she relocate to his bedroom shortly after becoming a Playmate. According to her account, when she declined, Hefner excluded her from his social circle. She received a settlement of $1.2 million through a lawsuit against the NYPD following a 2006 incident in which she claimed a police officer assaulted her, with the officer alleging she had brandished a firearm. She reported the officer threw her down and injured her neck. An investment banker became her husband in 2007, but the marriage dissolved quickly. Her subsequent marriage to Charles Nicolai, a chiropractor operating Wall Street Chiropractic & Wellness, produced a son named Vincent in 2011. The couple separated in 2016 and engaged in an intense dispute over custody of their son, requiring exchanges at a police station in Tribeca for safety reasons. Nicolai's legal representative demanded that she surrender Vincent's passport, a request she refused. She alleged Nicolai exhibited controlling and abusive behavior and had retained a private investigator to monitor her activities. On April 20, 2018, she was discovered deceased in her Bardstown, Kentucky residence. The Montgomery County Coroner's Office determined she had died by homicide through strangulation. Authorities provided no public information regarding suspects or potential motives. Vincent was not present during her death, remaining with his father in New York. Nicolai expressed shock and distress regarding the murder, stating he could not identify anyone who would wish her harm. Her death currently remains unsolved and under active investigation.
