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In all the years Playboy‘s been around (56, to be exact), very few Playmates of the Year have been of color. This year, however, not only is Playboy‘s Playmate of the Year black – she’s African!

Ida Ljungqvist is the 2009 Playmate of the Year for the renowned nudie mag, winning $100,000 a new car, and a magazine spread for the title. The 27-year-old half-Swedish model was born in Tanzania, speaks three languages, and was randomly discovered by another Playmate while working at a store on Rodeo Drive.

Not to point out “coincidences” here, but could Playboy’s declining revenue and the ever-ascending popularity of our current President have anything to do with this year’s Playmate of the Year pick, as the company’s sales will surely spike after this crowning? Just saying.

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.