Jennifer Saginor
Author of Playground
A childhood lost inside the Playboy Mansion
PLAYGROUND
Now Available on Audible
In the vein of Running with Scissors, Playground is the glitzy, glamorous, and surreal true story of a young girl who grew up inside the Playboy Mansion and never learned where the party stopped and the real world began.
Welcome to the world of Playground, the true story Jennifer Saginor who grew up inside the Playboy Mansion. By the time she was fourteen, she'd done countless drugs, had a secret affair with Hef's girlfriend, and was already losing her grip on reality. Schoolwork, family, and "ordinary people" had no meaning behind the iron gates of the Mansion, where celebrities frolicked, pool parties abounded, and her own father—Hugh Hefner's personal physician and best friend, the man nicknamed "Dr. Feel Good"—typically held court.
Every day was a party, every night was an adventure, and through it all was a young girl falling faster and faster down the rabbit hole—trying desperately hard not to get lost.
"Totally surreal. This is one of those books you simply can’t put down."
—Ben Affleck
“Utterly compelling….It’s one helluva book!”—Larry King
Playground Book Review
PLAYGROUND
A Childhood Lost Inside the Playboy Mansion
Author: Jennifer Saginor
Jennifer Saginor is the daughter of Hefner's personal physician, "Dr. Feelgood," who made a name for himself during their 40 year-old friendship and decades of living at the Mansion. Playground delves into a drug and sex fueled world of violence, parental neglect and how it shaped a young girls life. While realism of the Playboy Mansion and the glitz of Hollywood provides a compelling hook, the heart of the story explores the complex, confused, and painful dynamics of family relationships from a child's point of view.
When she was six, Jennifer Saginor swam into John Belushi having sex with a Playmate in the Playboy Mansion grotto. By fifteen, she'd tried every drug under the sun, had sex with men and women, lost interest in school, and been legally separated from her mother and younger sister.
Jennifer's memoir, PLAYGROUND: A CHILDHOOD LOST INSIDE THE PLAYBOY MANSION, is a candid, shocking, and addictive read. At times voiced with a sort of prescient detachment that broke through the fog of her over-stimulated adolescence, PLAYGROUND is a stirring memoir and a fascinating look at a very particular time and place in American culture.
Sizzle Reel
A glimpse into my childhood and life growing up in the
infamous PLAYBOY MANSION.
Testimonials
"Utterly compelling...It's One Helluva Book!"
Larry King
"Totally Surreal; This is one of those books you simply can't put down."
Ben Affleck
"Utterly compelling...It's One Helluva Book!"
- Larry King
Photo Gallery
About Me
JENNIFER SAGINOR was born and raised in Beverly Hills, California where she still resides today. She currently works as a luxury real estate agent at The Beverly Hills Estates.
While the surrealism of the Playboy Mansion and glitz of Hollywood provides a compelling hook, the heart of the story explores the complex, confused, and painful dynamics of family relationships from a child's point of view.
"In the journey to unravel our past, we are confronted by our demons. In order to avoid our demons, we create distractions. It's in these distractions we will find our own personal demons. "
"They say our lives are shaped not by those who love us, but by those who refuse to love us. I will be compelled forever by my formative years and the roles I developed as a child."
~ Jennifer Saginor
Press Reviews
"A Trashy beach read with soul...packed full of the kind of depravity you can't tear your eyes away from."
~The New Yorker
"Bizarre...Hilarious, disturbing.....I couldn't put it down."
~Salon.com
"A real-life Less Than Zero."
~Palm Beach News
"It's Hard to resist such a juicy read."
~Chicago Tribune
"Breathless....line of cocaine and lavish described moans of pleasure."
~Entertainment Weekly
"If you first brush with sex was stumbling upon John Belushi and a playmate going at it in the grotto of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion, it stands to figure your childhood might be a little screwed up."
~The Daily News
"Salacious....A Playboy tell-all...with plenty of lurid episodes."
~The Buffalo News
"Recreational drug use...lesbian experimentation...name dropping celebrities...as a 'Dear Diary' was edited from the start of each chapter."
~Maxim Magazine
"Readers seeking overall bad behavior will find it in Spades."
~Publishers Weekly
"An incredible unique experience and childhood growing up at The Playboy Mansion."