Realizing our weekly dose of Carpenter was over, we decided to take matters into our own hands and bring her back—so to speak—sexier than ever. Dressed in nothing but lacy underwear posed atop the city of Los Angeles, Carpenter proved every bit the sex pot she did on television. 

Since her breakout role, Carpenter has had roles in Charmed, Veronica Mars, Supernatural, The Expendables, The Expendables 2, Lucifer, and played opposite to Alicia Silverstone on several episodes of Miss Match, where the stunning brunette admitted to Playboy she developed a taste for mature men. “Someone like Colin Farrell doesn’t do it for me,” she describes. “I think I would have lots of chemistry with George Clooney – I like that salt-and-pepper vibe. But don’t tell my husband, okay?”

Carpenter’s pursuit of fame started at age nine, performing with a song-and-dance troupe in Vegas (think Travelodge, not Caesars Palace). Later her family relocated to a suburb of San Diego, where her dance skills landed her work as a Chargers cheerleader. Still, she longed to be an actress. Before that, though, she also worked as a waitress, an aerobics instructor, a property manager and an English teacher. Her pursuit of fame were so strong, even her Plan B and C would have seen her on television. “Well, if I had nine lives, I think one life would have been as a professional tennis player, and one would have been as a rock star,” she contests. “I would have loved to be a Gwen Stefani. Except I can’t sing, of course.”

A new mom when she posed in our June 2004 issue, Carpenter wanted to prove to the world – and herself – that motherhood can be sexy. “Posing in Playboy is about finding joy, liberation and warmth,” she recites. “I’m shy, and I really came out of my shell. My husband was like, ‘Honey, they’re not shooting now. You can put your robe back on.’”