Whirlwind Sam Phillips Marks 30 Phenomenal Years with Penthouse
Model Behavior with Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips now roams our world as a Penthouse icon. With an unrivaled 19 covers, Sam’s the magazine’s most celebrated cover model of all time, a symbol of the golden age of Guccione, and an integral part of daily operations for the brand. Behind the scenes, she’s Penthouse’s unofficial matriarch and a woman who’s had a hand in almost every facet of the publication, from columnist to model scout.
For Penthouse Pets, Sam will often be a model’s first point of contact with the magazine. She’ll be the voice on the other end of congratulatory calls and the one coaching them through poses on set. To the Penthouse team, she’s the magazine’s photo editor, production manager, and director of almost all things Pet-related.
In 1993 Phillips caught the eye of Penthouse’s then-editor-in-chief Bob Guccione. At 27 years old, Phillips was already a seasoned veteran of the industry and a woman of the world. She signed to New York’s famed Wilhelmina Models at age 16 and completed mega-campaigns for brands like Jordache. She’d dated rock royalty and lived in London, Paris, and Japan. Now, over a decade after her career began, and with countless magazine covers to her name, Phillips began to seek opportunities beyond the fashion world.
“I got healthier, I got my boobs done — I went blonde!” said Sam of her calculated transition from high-fashion model to music video vixen. “Directors loved me because I was fearless. … I was the first one to volunteer for a stunt or to get hung upside down.”
Phillips accepted the magazine’s offer after meeting with Guccione and his wife, vice chairman Kathy Keeton, in the couple’s 17,000 square foot townhouse on New York’s East 67th Street. Phillips shot with all-star glamor photographer Suze Randall and became a Penthouse Pet in June of 1993. It was a move that would begin a lifetime relationship with the brand.
Fun bit of history: In those days they would often do two different versions of the magazine cover. The first with the centerfold cover would go to subscribers only, and the second — often featuring some famous person — would show up in book stores and on newsstands. So if you have one of these original “Sam on the Cover” versions, hang on to it becassue they’re collector’s items.
“The first time we met was at one of these wonderful parties for the Pet of the Year,” said fellow Pet-alum and adult superstar Tera Patrick, “Everyone would wear gowns… and here was this gorgeous blonde woman with leather pants and a leopard coat.” It was a chance meeting that would lead to decades of friendship for the pair, who still jokingly refer to each other as “husband and wife.”
Sam’s sultry voice and bold demeanor led to a career in radio. Even while hosting alongside on-air personalities such as Tom Leykis and Dr. Drew, Phillips never lost her connection to her Penthouse family, regularly booking Pets for industry events and radio promotions.
“She was always looking out for everybody. […] Anytime an opportunity wasn’t for her, she’d keep it in her pocket and give it to someone else.” said Patrick.
In 2012 Sam formally returned to the pages of Penthouse with “Pet Confidential,” a regular column profiling current and former pets. Shortly thereafter, Phillips took on the role of Pet Manager — due in no small part to her popularity with her fellow centerfolds.
“We’ve been friends for over 25 years,” said November ‘97 Pet Alexus Winston. “When my mom passed away, Sam helped me through the whole thing. Even though she’s only ten years older than me — she stepped in as a sort of mother figure.”
Life doesn’t slow down after office hours for Phillips, where Sam’s dedication as a friend and mentor mirrors her commitment to her work. At home, she’s a self-professed crazy cat lady and house mom to the bevy of Pets and adult industry performers who frequent her Chatsworth home.
“She doesn’t like to call it a model house,” said adult performer Tyler Cruise, describing it as more of a “bed and breakfast” than anything else. “I still go over there for dinner all the time. I was there last week and she made homemade pasta and her famous garlic bread. She cooks at least four times a week for everybody.”
“It’s like a family,” says Phillips, ”There’s a cycle of regulars that come through and also a lot that are new models. They know that they’ll be safe [at my house]. The veterans here love to give advice to the new people that come through. It’s kind of a standard thing with this house, we all look after each other.”
For May ‘23 Pet Lexi Chey, staying with Sam helped make the Pet experience so memorable. “Sam was my Valentine’s Day date!” Chey says. “We had a girls’ night and she had all my clothes ready and laid out for me in the morning. […] I’m a small-town girl. I’d never even had anyone do my makeup for me before — but she explained everything. She made sure all my questions were answered. I’ve never felt so special.”
“She takes care of literally everyone,” said December ‘22 Pet Amber Rose, who describes Phillips as something of a “fairy godmother.” “She has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met.”
Balancing work/life responsibilities leaves free time in short supply for Phillips, whose typical work day starts at 3 am. Sam’s job is a split of location shoots, home editing, and trips to the Penthouse offices, where she’s often found printing and arranging 8x10s on the floor of workspace common areas. ”There are so many good photos and not enough pages. I want to cram as much of the experience into the layout as possible,” she said, describing her unorthodox process.
“Sam is a walking tornado,” said Penthouse CEO “Moose” fondly. “There’s never a dull moment.”
“She’s amazingly chaotic,” said ‘16 POTY Kenna James. “She’s one of the best people you’ll ever meet. But she is crazy as crazy can be — in the very best way possible.”
Despite changes in leadership at the magazine, Phillips’s presence has remained constant. When a new vision for the brand brought major upgrades to the table, Sam continued to prove that she was worth her weight in gold.
Moose wanted to bring back the signature key necklaces of the past, but the original mold was nowhere to be found. To bring the legacy design back to life, jewelers would need access to an original necklace. With Sam on staff, locating a Guccione-era original was easy — it was dangling around her neck. Convincing her to relinquish it, however, proved a challenge. “That key means everything to her,” said Moose. “She first wanted my firstborn child [as collateral], but my wife wasn’t okay with that.”
Eventually, Sam relented. One week later, a new mold had been cast and Phillips’ key was safely returned.
Today, Sam continues the Penthouse tradition on set, handing each newly minted Pet their very own copy of the iconic gold key. It’s as if her necklace has become a master key of sorts — a piece of herself handed down to the next generation. “She’s like an industry mother,” said 2021 POTY [Pet of the Year] Kenzie Anne, “You meet so many people, and yet Sam is everything you want people to be.”
Few Pets know the story behind the necklace they receive or the significance of receiving it directly from the woman from whose necklace it was cast — I know I didn’t — but its significance becomes more than just a symbol of the historic brand. It’s also become a symbol of Sam, her legacy at the magazine, and the connection she shares with a community she calls her “Penthouse family.”
“Once she’s in your life, and you’re in hers, she’s there forever” said Winston, “I think that’s a very unique quality, don’t you?”
Remarkably friendly, you might even be able to connect with Sam on Instagram. We cannot promise anything, to be sure, because she does happen to be quite popular, but it could happen. Of course you will never know unless you try. Now on the off chance you find yourslef not yet conviced this might be worth the effort, we have provided a heretofore super-secret video of Sam at a private Pet Event in Las Vegas last January.
Inimitable. … Fits, right?
(L-R) Sophie Summers, Trippie Bri, Renee Olstead, Sam Phillips, Bella Vaunt … Not Pictured: Way more fun later in the evening.
