Internet celebrity Cindy Margolis comes to town

Rick Teverbaugh
The Herald Bulletin

October 07, 2006 11:09 pm

— Popular model and Internet celebrity Cindy Margolis wasn’t just making her first visit to Anderson and Hoosier Park Saturday for the Indiana Derby, she was also making her first trip to a horse-racing track.
“I love horses and I love all animals,” said Margolis. “I’m a spokesperson for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). I’m going to place my first bet tonight. Everyone here has just been wonderful. I’d like to live in a place like this where everyone is so sweet.”
Even though she isn’t a savvy bettor, she has done very well on the poker scene.
“Cindy Violet, one of the top women poker players is a friend of mine,” said Margolis. “I have been a fan of hers for many years. She told me it was time for me to get involved. I played in the World Poker Tour and I did very well. I was in the World Series of Poker where I was the last celebrity standing. I just did the ABC Pro Am and I came in third.”
Many people are surprised at her holding her own against more experienced players but she has an explanation.
“I think it’s because I’m an amateur that I’m doing so well,” she said. “I don’t really know what I’m doing. I’ve been on the cover of several poker magazines so I think when I do show up some of the pros are afraid of me when I really don’t know what I’m doing. On the way to airports I’m reading ‘Texas Hold ‘Em for Dummies.’”
She isn’t uninformed about RESOLVE, an organization for which she is a celebrity spokesperson.
“They are the national infertility organization,” said Margolis. “It is a cause near and dear to my heart. I have three children and they are all through fertility. There are 12 million people nationwide that struggle with infertility that we know about. I’m trying to bring it out of the closet and the darkness and into the open and the daylight.
“When 45-year-old Geena Davis is having twins we don’t talk about the procedure. I want people to know that half the time it is a male problem. It’s not just a female problem. I might look perfect to some people on the outside but actually it was very, very hard for me. My first son was born through invitro fertilization which I went through seven times. After that I was unable to have more children and my twins were born through surrogacy.”
For Margolis to become a household name around the world, the Internet played a major role.
“I was just fortunate to be the first person to really have a Web site on the Internet,” she said. “It was perfect timing. I got in bed, so to speak, with America Online and Yahoo. It will be something I can tell my grandchildren because I don’t think the Internet is going away anytime soon.”
That popularity may reach its zenith next month when she appears in a spread for Playboy Magazine.
“It was literally 20 years in the making,” said Margolis. “Mr. (Hugh) Hefner has always been wonderful. I’ve always graciously declined. I thought I’d be the one who didn’t take her clothes off. I’ve made my living off being the girl next door.”
So why say ‘yes’ now?
“When they called me on my 40th birthday and I thought ‘Wow, they still want me.’” said Margolis. “Now at this point in my life to be an inspiration that when you are 40 and married and have three kids that you can still take care of yourself. If I wanted to do it to advance my career I would have done it when I was 20 or 30 and had an even hotter body. But I think this is empowering. Playboy is going to give a portion of the sales of this magazine to my charity.”
It was a big deal revealing her often photographed body for the camera and for readers.
“Even though I’ve spent a lot of my career in itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikinis, that little bit of cloth really is a big deal,” said Margolis.
“Yes it was a big decision for me. Thank God for “Desperate Housewives” for making this popular. It seems every celebrity is turning 40 this year. Halle Berry, Cindy Crawford, everyone looks so great. I want everyone to buy it and I want no one to see it. I want everyone to buy it but nobody I know personally is allowed to see it.”

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