We were lucky to catch up with Candace Jordan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Candace , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.

Hands down, the best boss I ever had was Hugh M. Hefner. He literally brought me to the party. He invited me to move to Chicago into the Playboy Mansion from my work as a Bunny at the St. Louis Playboy Club. From this point on, there was no stopping me. I became Chicago’s Playboy Bunny of the Year, a Playboy centerfold and 9-time cover girl. Hef, and Playboy, have been very, very good to me and I’m proud to still be an ambassador to this day for Playboy.

Candace , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I came to Chicago as a Playboy Bunny in St. Louis. I had been a model since age 13 so I continued that here after I left Playboy- appearing alongside Tom Cruise in “Risky Business,” in “Smokey & the Bandit III, and other films. I appeared on a billboard in Times Square for JVC after I signed with Wilhelmina in New York. She sent me to Europe to build up my portfolio. I spent three months with the Covers Agency in Spain where I was invited for a day long lunch at the home of legendary artist Salvador Dali and his wife Gala. It was a surreal experience that I will always treasure. I also did a champagne commercial inside an “active” volcano on the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and was included in a print campaign for Burberry that was shot in the Pyrenees.

Fast forward to today, and I’m an award-winning media personality with Chicago’s first and longest running lifestyle blog, CandidCandace.com. I’m an associate publisher for Chicago Star Media and a columnist for Crain’s Chicago Business. My award-winning podcast, “Candid Candace – The Podcast” covers all the news from in and around Chicago. My YouTube channel, Candid Candace TV, has over 500,000 views and includes interviews with Al Pacino, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Connors, Christopher Walken, Jennifer Hudson, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert Downey Jr., Colin Farrell, Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy, Woody Allen, Priscilla Presley, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and many others.

My writing has appeared in the Huffington Post, Orlando Sentinel, Charlotte Observer, Huff Post UK, Yahoo Singapore, Star Tribune, Baltimore Sun, Barrington-Courier- Review and others.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

When my blog became popular, I was approached by the editors of the Chicago Tribune, asking if I would like to put my blog on their new Chicago Now platform. I didn’t share my blog there but I did start writing for them which turned into an exciting opportunity. I was offered my own column, “Candid Candace,” in the Chicago Tribune. I wrote the column for 10 years before Covid struck and the social scene dried up. During this time, I continued the blog and all my social commitments to local nonprofits. For my work, I’ve been honored with multiple awards and am still wholly committed to our nonprofit community.

I’ve been honored by: The Alliance for Women in Media which inducted me into its Media Maven Hall of Fame; The Stanley Paul Foundation honored me at its annual benefit where she drew the largest crowd in the event’s history; Eversight Illinois named me its Woman of Vision and Creativity United presented me with the Oprah Winfrey Female Entrepreneur Award at the DuSable Museum of African History; I was presented with the Shining Star Award from Wish-Upon-AWedding, a nonprofit that grants weddings and vow renewals for people with lifethreatening illnesses; I was the proud honoree for Giordano Dance Chicago’s 55th anniversary Legacy Ball where I was gifted with a world premiere created in my honor by famed choreographer Ray Leeper; The Chicago Lighthouse honored me with its Hood/Swift Woman of Flair Award at its annual FLAIR benefit; I was also honored by the Catering Executives Club of America with its Impact Award; BizBash inducted me into its Hall of Fame during a gala at the Museum of Science and Industry and The Happiness Club, a nonprofit that inspires kids through the arts, honored me at its annual benefit with its Legacy Award; The Apparel Industry Board honored me at its annual Rev Up! event for my support of Chicago’s local design community; I was also honored by SOS Villages Illinois, a nonprofit that provides foster care for those in need; In May of 2024, I received the Excellence in Media Award from the Dream Awards at the Kehrein Center for the Arts; In April of 2024, I was honored by WINGS, a nonprofit supporting survivors of domestic violence, at its debut fundraiser, Blossom, emceed by Nigel Barker; and last, but not least, I received the inaugural Community Engagement Award from PAWS Chicago in July 2024.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I grew up in a small town (3,000) in Southern Illinois. I was involved in many activities in school – cheerleader, National Honor Society and others. My stepfather was a mean drunk- my mom and I would dread the sound of the car pulling into the driveway. I remember studying in my closet with a flashlight. Despite him, I became valedictorian of my class winning a scholarship to St. Louis University.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.CandidCandace.com
• Instagram: @CandidCandace
• Facebook: Candace Jordan (personal page) AND Candid Candace (fan page)
• Linkedin: Candace Jordan
• Twitter: Candace Jordan
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CandidCandaceTV
• Other: Candid Candace – The Podcast – https://www.candacejordan.podbean.com/
  Contributor WGN Radio 720

Image Credits

Candace Jordan