Carmella DeCesare was born July 1, 1982. A native of Avon Lake, Ohio, she is of Italian and Puerto Rican ancestry.
Career
Modeling career
Carmella DeCesare came to Playboy's attention after she applied to a Fox reality show Who Wants to Be a Playboy Centerfold search. After she was selected as a finalist, she withdrew from the competition due to having second thoughts about the endeavor. When Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner learned this, he invited her to his birthday party and convinced her to change her mind. She was subsequently chosen as a Playboy Cyber Girl of the Week, then a Cyber Girl of the Month before becoming Playboy's Miss April in 2003. DeCesare appeared in the 2005 Playmates at Play at the Playboy Mansion swimsuit calendar as calendar girl of March. The calendar was the inaugural Playmates at Play calendar and it was shot on the grounds of the Playboy Mansion in 2004. It was Playboy's first attempt at creating a non-nude swimsuit calendar featuring Playmates similar in style with those from Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2005, DeCesare received breast implants. In an episode of the E! reality-TV series The Girls Next Door in August 2005, she said that her implants looked fake because they were new and had not fully settled. DeCesare modeled in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
DeCesare and her husband, Jeff Garcia, founded the Garcia Pass It On Foundation in order to share resources with people in less fortunate circumstances.
Legal issues
On September 10, DeCesare pleaded not guilty to assault in a Cleveland, Ohio court after a fight in a bar on August 21, 2004 with a woman named Kristen Hine. She was acquitted of the assault charge on January 12, 2005 but found guilty of violating a restraining order. She was sentenced to do twenty-four hours of community service, given one year probation, and fined $150. During the trial, DeCesare testified that Jeff Garcia, her boyfriend at that time and the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, had been involved in an affair with Hine after DeCesare's and Garcia's relationship began. Garcia commented, "It's embarrassing that I am here today, to be caught up in a situation like this."
Personal life
On April 21, 2007, DeCesare married then-NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia at the CordeValle Resort in San Martin, California. Their first daughter, Presley, was born on April 28, 2008. The couple welcomed their second child, a son, Jason in June 2009. The couple's third child, a son named Jax was born on September 21, 2010. In December 2011, their fourth child, a daughter, Faith was born.
General references
"Carmella DeCesare". Cleveland Magazine. v. 34, n. 1. January 2005. 71.
Bill Lubinger. "PTA presidents, grandmas and actresses: Ohio-linked playmates have nothing to hide". The Plain Dealer. December 1, 2003.
