After making her Playboy comeback, Carmen Electra says she’s open to hopping back into the dating pool.
At 54, the “Baywatch” bombshell posed for the magazine three decades after her debut. The actress and model first appeared in the magazine in 1996 at age 24 and now graces the pages of its Summer 2026 issue, which is on sale now.
Posing in fishnets, Electra also answered readers’ burning questions about love, but she isn’t just dishing out dating advice. She’s ready for a romance of her own.
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“I still like a guy that’s a little bit edgy, but I wouldn’t mind being with a dad type,” the star told Fox News Digital. “I did actually date a dad. He had a daughter. I fell in love with the daughter. And I kind of thought that was going to be the relationship. Didn’t work out, but I could be with someone who has a kid or not.”
The actress and model has walked down the aisle twice before. She wed former NBA star Dennis Rodman in November 1998. Rodman filed for an annulment just nine days later, though the pair reconciled before Electra ultimately filed for divorce in April 1999.
Electra gave marriage another shot with Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, saying “I do” in 2003. The couple announced their separation in 2006, and their divorce was finalized in 2007.
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Today, Electra isn’t putting any limits on love.
“They don’t have to be a dad,” she said. “They could be a little bit younger. I don’t know. I don’t really know who that guy is yet. I work really hard. I make money. I’m not looking for the man with money. That’s not my goal.
“If he wants to buy me a few gifts, that’s nice. But I can take care of myself. He just has to be a good person. That’s very important. And we have to like the same things.
“It’s also cool when opposites attract,” she noted. “Because they say if two people are too similar, one person is unnecessary. So, you don’t want it to be too similar, but you do want to like certain things. You want to have some things in common. But you also want to learn from each other.”
Electra has long worn her heart on her sleeve and “love” on her skin. The pinup previously told Fox News Digital she has the word tattooed on her wrist.
“I’ve always been about love,” Electra said at the time. “I’ve always come from a place of love. And if we could all do that, what a wonderful place we could be in. If you really mess with me, I don’t know how much love you’re going to get. But I truly believe in love.”
Electra said she has felt plenty of love from her social media followers, who have cheered her on through the years.
“Look, sometimes I’m trying different things on my Instagram page,” she said. “Not everyone’s going to love those things, and you might not get as many likes. But you turn around and, boom, my fans are there.”
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After making a splash in Hollywood, Electra has discovered what makes her feel most confident, and it has nothing to do with looking glamorous or having a beau. For her, it’s all about being booked and busy.
“I feel the most confident when I’m working, and I’ve been working a lot,” she said. “When I’m working, I’m really happy. It’s weird; you would think that by now I’d be over it. But I’m just not. I love it. And the more I work, the more confident I feel. When I’m in love, I feel confident. But I don’t have someone in my life right now. But I’m still confident because I’m working.”
After returning to Playboy, Electra has a message for women who think getting older means fading into the background: Don’t buy it.
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“Don’t let anyone tell you you’re too old,” she said. “That’s a myth. You are living your own life. You’re not living your life for other people. And, honestly, if you’re manifesting that, that’s what it’s going to be for you.
“You have to change your thought process. You have to start telling yourself every morning, ‘I’m beautiful. I’m good enough. I look great. I’m pretty.’ Whatever it is that you want to be, you can be that.
“At one time in my life, I was reading a lot of books about Buddhism,” she reflected. “I remember one book talked about your inner child and never losing your inner child. And I’ve always been a bit childish.
“So, I always thought, ‘I’m not going to lose it.’ I never want to lose that, and I’m not going to. And I think the people who are older than me, who are still in this business and who I think are beautiful, have a youthful spirit. And people will love you for being who you really, truly are.”
