According to her Playmate Profile video, she claims to have been a tomboy growing up, sporting a crewcut until she was 11 or 12 years old. In high school, she played varsity volleyball and basketball. She even broke her collarbone playing football.While eating pizza with her girlfriends after a night spent clubbing, she was approached by a Playboy photographer who gave Nichole his card. The next day she called Playboy, made an appointment for a photo shoot and a week later she got the call from the magazine to become a Playmate.Nichole Van Croft became the Playmate of the Month in October 2000 and appeared in several Playboy videos. She was also featured in other magazines such as Maxim, FHM, and Stuff. She came out as the first lesbian centerfold in 2003, despite later marrying two men.In an appearance on Howard Stern in 2001, van Croft claimed that soon after becoming a Playmate, Hugh Hefner asked her to move into his bedroom. She claims that when she refused, he cut her off from his personal life.She also won $1.2 million after suing the NYPD for a 2006 incident where she was allegedly assaulted by a police officer who claimed that she had pulled a gun on him. She said that the officer threw her to the ground and injured her neck.She married an investment banker in 2007, but they divorced shortly after. She then married Charles Nicolai, a chiropractor who owned Wall Street Chiropractic & Wellness. They had a son named Vincent, who was born in 2011.Nichole Van Croft and Charles Nicolai separated in 2016 and were involved in a bitter custody battle over their son. They had to meet at a police station in Tribeca to exchange their son, to avoid any violence between them.Nicolai’s lawyer had recently told Van Croft that she had to hand over Vincent’s passport, which she refused to do. She also accused Nicolai of being abusive and controlling, and claimed that he had hired a private investigator to spy on her.A Mysterious DeathOn April 20, 2018, Nichole Van Croft was found dead in her home in Bardstown, Kentucky. The cause of death was ruled as homicide by strangulation, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. The police did not reveal any suspects or motives for the killing.Her son Vincent was not with her at the time of her death. He was staying with his father in New York City. Nicolai expressed his shock and grief over his ex-wife’s murder and said that he had no idea who would want to harm her.Nichole Van Croft’s death remains unsolved and is still under investigation by the authorities.