Neva Gilbert

Who is Neva Gilbert?

Neva Gilbert is an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its July 1954 issue.

Since Playboy did not collect information about its Playmates until 1959, little is known about her background. It is most likely that she was born in the early to mid-1930s.

At the time, Playboy did not commission its own photo sessions. Gilbert's photos were actually taken by a private photographer, who sold them to the Baumgarth Calendar Company. Hugh Hefner bought her photos, along with many other models', and published them, to Gilbert's surprise. According to her,

"In those days, I was an aspiring actress. I'd go on assignments with Marilyn Monroe. We did some calendar shots for a photographer named Tom Kelley. A few months later, I heard the pictures had appeared in a new magazine called Playboy, but I couldn't find a copy. I didn't see my centerfold until this year."

Gilbert had small parts in two films: Combat Squad and The Country Girl. She also appeared in various off-Broadway and college theatre productions, especially the plays of Tennessee Williams. She later resurfaced with the above quote - and a new semi-nude pose - in the “Playmates Forever!”