Hugh Hefner's 4 Children: All About Christie, David, Marston and Cooper Hefner

Meet Hugh Hefner’s children.

He is the founder Playboy magazine, who died at the age of 91 in September 2017, is survived by four children: daughter Christie and sons David, Marston and Cooper Hefner, whom he had between 1952 and 1991.

Hugh married his first wife, fellow Northwestern University student Millie Williams, in 1949. Together they had Christie in 1952 and David in 1955 before divorcing in 1959.

The Playboy the magazine founder married Kimberley Conrad in 1989 after meeting at a photo shoot two years earlier. They welcomed Marston and Cooper during their time together before their divorce was finalized in 2010.

Several of Hugh’s children have worked at Playboy Enterprises, with Christie being named CEO in 1988 and Cooper becoming Chief Creative Officer in 2016. However, his other two children are not as involved with the company.

The late media mogul — who also starred on E! reality show The girls next door — spoke highly of his only daughter, calling her “the smartest, most articulate 26-year-old lady I’ve ever met” in an interview with The New York Times in 1979.

In August 2017, Cooper said The Hollywood Reporter that his dad “spoke publicly about wanting us to run the organization together.” As for his brother Marston – who was initially positioned as co-heir – Cooper told the paper: “As we got older, it became apparent that it wasn’t something that spoke to him.”

Read what you need to know about Hugh Hefner’s four children.

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Christie Hefner

Christie Hefner and Hugh Hefner during the grand opening of the Playboy Club in Las Vegas.

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Hugh welcomed his first child, daughter Christie, with his first wife Millie Williams. She was born on November 8, 1952. Out of four children, Christie was Hugh’s only daughter.

She began working for Playboy Enterprises in 1975 and was named the company’s president in 1982 before becoming chief executive officer in 1988.

In an interview for The 1979 NYTHugh spoke highly of her work ethic and addressed speculation that she had become a figurehead at the company as a way to soften the magazine’s feminist criticism.

“Well, that’s what I commented on [if] Christie didn’t exist, our promotion department might want to invent her,” he said at the time. “She’s perfectly suited, both symbolically and literally, for the role she plays in the company and the role I hope she will play in the future.”

Christie revolutionized Playboy Enterprises during her time at the company, transforming the brand into a global giant and helping launch Playboy TV and Playboy.com. It also closed down the original Playboy clubs.

“I think the feminist opposition is diminishing, to tell you the truth,” Christie said NYT as she explained her motivation as the head of the company. “I think they’re finally getting it Playboy it’s not an enemy, it’s a friend. They realize it’s a men’s magazine. It does not deal with all that it means to be [a] woman.”

In 2009, Christie stepped down from her position at Playboy Enterprises. She now serves as president of Hatch Beauty, a brand strategy and innovation firm, and is heavily involved in charitable and political organizations.

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David Hefner

Hugh Hefner in November 2005.

Dan Tuffs/Getty

Hugh had his second child, a son, David, with Millie on August 30, 1955. He is the eldest of the Playboy founder’s three sons.

Compared to his siblings, David chooses to live his life completely out of the public eye and away from the public eye Playboy way of life. Little is known about his career, although he reportedly worked as a computer programmer.

David does not use Hefner as his last name, a decision Hugh said NYT In 1979, he didn’t mind. (Christie and David adopted their stepfather’s name at a young age, although Christie resumed using Hefner as a college student.)

“In David’s case, no, it doesn’t bother me,” Hugh told the outlet of his eldest son’s choice of nickname. “Because society’s expectations are so different for men and women, I think it’s much harder to be my son than my daughter. I don’t think that reflects any separation from me, but the need at this particular time in his life to be himself and to I respect him.”

Although very few pictures of David have been released, Hugh’s son Marston tweeted a photo of David enjoying a game of backgammon with his father and sister Christie in August 2017.

Marston Hefner

Marston Hefner and Hugh Hefner at the premiere of “The Rum Diary” in October 2011.

Eric Charbonneau/WireImage

Hugh had his third child, son Marston, with Kimberley Conrad on April 9, 1990. He was the first of the couple’s two children together.

Marston lived in the Playboy mansion for the first eight years of his life, until he moved into the $7 million house next door with his mother when Hugh and Kimberley split after nine years together.

During the 2008 interview with GQthe then 18-year-old Marston talked about his unusual upbringing as a kid living in the Playboy Mansion. “As a 15-year-old kid, I saw naked people occasionally, it’s – it’s just the lifestyle of growing up as Hugh Hefner’s son, in his shadow,” he told the news outlet.

Marston also addressed the public’s perception of him as Hugh’s son. “But instead of making me really care about looks, I’m looking for personality and a personal connection… because I’ve been about looks my whole life,” he told GQ.

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Hugh Hefner with sons Cooper and Marston Hefner at the Thalians 55th Annual Gala at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles on April 30, 2011.

Angela Weiss/Getty

Hugh told the magazine that Marston “thinks of himself as Hef Junior”. Meanwhile, Kimberly countered — saying, “Actually, I don’t know about that. I mean else people think of him as Hef Junior.”

When Marston was 21, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend, Playboy friend Claire Sinclair, in 2012. He was later released on $20,000 misdemeanor bail, according to Pasadena police.

Marston was initially positioned as co-heir, although he has remained largely out of the public eye since the incident. In August 2017 THR reported that he taught English in Japan.

More recently, Marston is a published author and dabbles in nude photography, sharing images with his subscribers on OnlyFans. “I think I like to be provocative in a way that makes sense to me ethically, as long as I don’t feel like it’s doing any harm,” he told Fox News.

In July 2023, Marston welcomed his first baby, son Forrest, with his wife Anna Lambropoulos Hefner, whom he married in August 2022.

Cooper Hefner

Cooper Hefner at the grand opening of the Playboy Club in New York on September 12, 2018.

David Williams/Bloomberg via Getty

Hugh welcomed his fourth and final child, son Cooper, with Kimberley on September 4, 1991. It marked the couple’s second baby together.

When Hugh and Kimberly split after nine years together, Cooper also moved into a $7 million house near the Playboy mansion with his mom and Marston.

Cooper started working for Playboy Enterprises when he was in college at the age of 21. He left the company as a board observer in 2015 due to indifference with the CEO, although he returned 18 months later in June 2016.

By August 2017, Cooper was named chief creative officer with plans for a rebrand Playboy for his generation. He said THR at the time the magazine was a “philosophy of freedom”, although it also acknowledged its “lifestyle components”.

“And right now, as history repeats itself in real time, I want to Playboy to be at the center of that conversation,” Cooper added. “I mean Playboy philosophy all the time, but I have my own point of view. That’s what he’s going to have to carry me through,” he said elsewhere in the interview.

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Cooper Hefner and Scarlett Byrne. David Becker/Getty Images

Cooper said THR that he confides in his half-sister Christie because she “can relate to the situation more than anyone” and encourages him to keep a clear head in business conversations. “For me like [26]-year-old, it’s challenging at times,” he admitted. “My emotions get the better of me.”

After Hugh’s death in September 2017, Cooper said in a statement that his father “lived an extraordinary and influential life as a media and cultural pioneer”. It praised his “leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in championing free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom.”

In 2022, Cooper came forward to defend his father Secrets of Playboy docuseries, whose goal was to expose the “hidden realities” behind the empire led by Hugh. He posted a message on Twitter criticizing “spoiled stories” about his dad, though he didn’t mention the show or the network that aired the series.

Cooper and his wife had their first child, daughter Betsy Rose, in August 2020. Harry Potter alum Scarlett Byrne Hefner. In March 2022, they had twin daughters, Marigold Adele and Blossom Pearl.

“A very special occasion. Blossom & Marigold—mom and dad love you so much. Happy birthday to you both,” Cooper wrote on Instagram in celebration of his twins’ first birthday in March 2023.

In October 2024, Cooper told PEOPLE he was making a $100 million cash buyout offer Playboy after seeing “enormous potential to bring the brand back to its roots” — a decision he called “deeply personal.”

“In an era where legacy brands are sought after with modern relevance, I believe Playboy can once again lead conversations about lifestyle, entertainment and individual freedom,” he said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Our main goal right now is to work with the current business and brand stakeholders to identify an outcome that works for everyone.”

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