Stephanie Adams
Born(1970-07-24)July 24, 1970
Orange, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Diedc. May 18, 2018(2018-05-18) (aged 47)
New York City, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide by jumping
Resting placeSaint John's Cemetery
New Rockford, North Dakota, U.S.
Spouse
Charles V. Nicholai
​
​
(m. 2010; sep. 2017)​
Children1
Playboy centerfold appearance
November 1992
Preceded byTiffany Sloan
Succeeded byBarbara Moore
Personal details
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Details
VictimsVincent Adams
Datec. May 18, 2018
CountryUnited States
State(s)New York

Stephanie Adams (July 24, 1970 – c. May 18, 2018)[1][2] was an American model, author, and murderer. She was Playboy Playmate of the Month for November 1992.

On May 18, 2018, Adams killed herself and her seven-year-old son in a murder-suicide.[3] According to the New York City Police Department, she pushed her son out of a 25th-story balcony,[4] before jumping herself.[3][5]

Early life

Adams was born in Orange, New Jersey,[1] and was raised by her aunts Joyce and Pearl, former models who encouraged her to begin modeling at the age of 16.[6] She was of African American, Euro-American, and Cherokee ancestry,[7][8] and claimed to be a direct descendant of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.[9]

Career

Adams graduated from Ophelia DeVore School of Charm and began a career as a model, appearing in photo shoots for Seventeen magazine, Venus Swimwear, and commercial advertisements for Clairol.[6] She appeared as "Miss November 1992" in Playboy magazine[1] while modeling for Wilhelmina Models. She later moved to Elite Model Management after becoming engaged to its CEO, John Casablancas.[10]

Adams earned a bachelor's degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1992.[10][11][12][13] She made a cameo appearance for the "Top 10" list on the Late Show with David Letterman on November 20, 2003, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Playboy magazine.[14] She appeared on the cover of The Village Voice in 2005.[15]

In 1999, Adams founded Goddessy, according to her a portmanteau of "goddess" and "odyssey". She published her first book in 2003 and started her own publishing company in 2007. Following the death of her aunt from breast cancer in 2003, she dedicated more of her time to writing. That same year, she published a book dedicated to her deceased aunt titled He Only Takes the Best, followed by another book written in honor of her elderly Aunt Pearl titled Guardian. Adams produced about two dozen metaphysical books, astrology calendars and a tarot card set marketed under the Goddessy brand.[7][16] She also published a novel titled Empress in 2004, featuring women in ancient Rome.[17]

Adams was founder and CEO of the skin care product company Goddessy Organics.[18][19] With her husband, she was co-owner of Wall Street Chiropractic and Wellness.[20]

Personal life

Early in her career, Adams was married to an Italian investment banker, but later divorced.[17] In a February 2003 She magazine cover story, Adams came out as a lesbian, the first Playmate to do so.[21] In their 2004 "Best of" feature, The Village Voice declared her the "Best lesbian sex symbol", saying it was "hard to turn a page in a queer rag without seeing the willowy model peeking out in a bikini, or nothing at all".[22] However, in 2009, Adams announced that she was engaged to marry a man, and about the same time, described herself in an interview as straight. After her marriage in 2010 to Charles V. Nicholai, a Manhattan chiropractor, Adams said she was retiring from public life and would spend most of her time privately with her husband and son.[23]

In May 2006, during a dispute over where to drop her off, a New York City taxi driver called the police and falsely reported that Adams was armed with a gun and had threatened to shoot him.[24][25] The taxi driver's license was subsequently revoked and he was fined $2,700 for the incident.[26][27] Adams alleged that during the incident police threw her to the ground, causing injuries to her neck and back.[28] Adams filed a lawsuit against the New York City Police Department in 2006. In February 2012, a jury awarded her $1.2 million, $400,000 more than had been sought by her lawyer,[29][30][31] but the judge later reduced it to $373,000.[32] Adams stated that she had "no animosity toward the NYPD".[33][34]

Murder of Vincent Adams and suicide

Murder of Vincent Adams
LocationGotham Hotel, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Datec. May 18, 2018 (EDT)
TargetVincent Adams
Attack type
Murder–suicide, filicide, child murder
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator)
PerpetratorStephanie Adams
MotiveUnknown (possibly related to custody battle)

On the evening of May 17, 2018, Adams checked into a 25th-floor penthouse in the Gotham Hotel on 46th Street in Manhattan with her seven-year-old son Vincent. The next morning, both were found dead on a second-floor balcony in the hotel's rear courtyard. According to law enforcement officials, Adams and her husband were involved in a custody battle, and hours before checking into the hotel, Adams told the New York Post that her husband and his lawyer were preventing her from taking her son on vacation.[2][35] The New York City Chief Medical Examiner ruled Adams's death a suicide and that of her son a homicide.[36][37][38][39]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Stephanie Adams". Playboy. Archived from the original on November 11, 2006. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Long, Colleen, Peltz, Jennifer (May 18, 2018). "Police: Mom apparently jumps to death with 7-year-old son". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.((cite news)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Williams, Janice (May 22, 2018). "Former Playboy model Stephanie Adams killed her son before plunging to her death". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "Ex-Playboy Model Stephanie Adams and Son Dead After Jumping from New York City Hotel Balcony". May 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Ray, Esha (May 22, 2018). "Ex-Playboy model pushed 7-year-old son before suicide plunge from hotel". The Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Stephanie Adams homepage". Stephanie Adams Website. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Voo, Jocelyn (April 2005). "Honing her craft". Curve. Outspoken Enterprises. p. 57. Archived from the original on December 2, 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  8. ^ Adams, Stephanie (2007). Goddessy 2009 Monthly Horoscopes & Photo Calendar. Goddessy. ISBN 978-0-9793694-1-4. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  9. ^ Mongelli, Lorena; Golding, Bruce (November 20, 2013). "'Fired for being too cute' by ex-Playmate boss". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Marcus Baram. "Live and Uncensored: It's Dave". Observer. Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  11. ^ "Fairleigh Dickinson University graduation certificate". Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  12. ^ Playboy – November 1992 – Vol. 39 No. 11, p. 115
  13. ^ "Stephanie Adams". TV.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. ^ Show #2080, Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, November 20, 2003
  15. ^ Village Voice – June 22–28, 2005 – Vol. L No. 25
  16. ^ Diane Wilde, "Cover to Cover", She Magazine, September 2003, p. 16.
  17. ^ a b Lester, Neal A.; Goggin, Maureen Daly (December 28, 2007). Racialized Politics of Desire in Personal Ads. Lexington Books. pp. 151–. ISBN 978-0-7391-2208-2. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  18. ^ "Who we are Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine", Goddessy Organics. Retrieved July 5, 2014
  19. ^ Janene Mascarella, "Cheap tricks 17 ways to look beautiful for less Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine", Parade, Condé Nast, May 8, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  20. ^ Abigail Rubenstein, "'Too Cute' Yoga Teacher Can't Show Bias, Ex-Bosses Say", Law360, February 10, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014
  21. ^ Megan Cossey, "Pioneering Playmate: As the first Playboy centerfold to come out of the closet, Stephanie Adams is hopping down a brand new bunny trail", She Magazine, February 2003. Reproduced within this page of "brief versions of a few articles" Archived September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine within Adams's Goddessy.com. See also: Shazia Khan, "Gay Pride Week: Same-Sex Marriage Debate Looms Over Annual Festivities Archived April 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine", NY1 News, June 21, 2004; "Playmate Sues Taxi Driver, NYC Police". USA Today. September 22, 2006. All three. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  22. ^ Kramer Bussel, Rachel (2004). "The Best of NYC". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2012.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. ^ Press release Archived April 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Goddessy.com (undated).
  24. ^ Hays, Tom (September 25, 2006). "Former playmate sues NYPD, taxi driver". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  25. ^ Standora, Leo (August 25, 2006). "Cabbie Catches Hail From Bunn". Daily News. New York. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  26. ^ Hayes, Melissa (May 2, 2010). "Former Playmate, Stephanie Adams, fights in Hudson court for custody of aunt". The Jersey Journal. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  27. ^ Olshan, Jeremy (August 2, 2006). "PLAYMATE A VAMPIRE, CABBY SAID". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  28. ^ Gregorian, Dareh. "Playboy gal sues cops over takedown". New York Post. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  29. ^ Neil, Martha (February 22, 2012). "Model Who Said Her Skintight Outfit Showed She Wasn't Armed Wins $1.2M in NYPD Excessive-Force Suit". ABA Journal. American Bar Association. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  30. ^ Martinez, Edecio. "Ex-Playboy Playmate wins $1.2M for rough treatment by NYPD". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  31. ^ Chow, Andrew (February 23, 2012). "Ex-Playmate Strips NYC of $1.2M in Jury Verdict". FindLaw. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  32. ^ "Former Playboy centerfold apparently jumps to death with son". Boston Globe. May 18, 2018. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  33. ^ "Roughed-up ex-Playmate Stephanie Adams has no animosity toward the NYPD". 10 news. February 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  34. ^ "Former playmate talks about $1.2 million lawsuit". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2012 – via YouTube.
  35. ^ Danielle, Britni (May 21, 2018). "Former Playboy Model Jumps To Her Death With 7-Year-Old Son". Essence. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  36. ^ Adams, Char (May 21, 2018). "Death of Former Playboy Centerfold and Son Ruled Murder-Suicide After She Jumped From N.Y.C. Hotel". People. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018. The mother and child both died of multiple blunt impact injuries, with the child suffering injuries to the head, neck, torso and limbs. Stephanie' manner of death was labeled suicide and Vincent's was ruled a homicide.
  37. ^ Ray, Esha (May 21, 2018). "Former Playboy model Stephanie Adams pushed 7-year-old son before suicide plunge from hotel penthouse". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  38. ^ Marsh, Julia; Johnson, Richard (May 18, 2018). "Tragic Playmate was distraught she couldn't take son to Europe". New York Post. Retrieved December 1, 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ Wiliams, Janice (May 22, 2018). "Former Playboy model Stephanie Adams killed her son before plunging to her death". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.

External links

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