Joanne Latham Bio Editor's Choice
March 21, 1961 / Aries / Age 65
Joanne Latham is a British-born Penthouse model, glamour model, and actress, born Joanne Kandy Latham on March 21, 1961 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.
Joanne Latham was crowned Penthouse Pet of the Month in September 1979, stepping into the spotlight at just 18 years old. With her statuesque 40-23-36 figure, soulful hazel eyes, honey blond hair, and prominent natural breasts, Joanne radiates a fresh, playful energy — the kind of youthful allure that feels fearless, spontaneous, and impossible to ignore.
Joanne Latham entered Penthouse with the kind of beauty that arrives already surrounded by competition, rumor, and expectation. She had the polished grace of a trained dancer, the cool poise of a fashion model, and the unmistakable voltage of a woman the entire industry seemed suddenly eager to claim. By the time she appeared in September 1979, she was no mere hopeful. She was an event — a young English beauty whose arrival carried the force of a cultural moment and whose image seemed destined to travel far beyond a single issue.
What made Joanne especially compelling was the unusual blend of discipline and glamour behind her appeal. Born in Wolverhampton, she had studied classical ballet for nine years and earned a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School, bringing with her the control, posture, and physical intelligence that only real training can produce. A dancing competition opened the door to modeling for Miss Selfridge, and from there she moved quickly into other assignments, television commercials, and appearances in the British popular press. Yet even as the spotlight intensified, there remained something composed about her. She did not read like a woman overwhelmed by attention. She looked like someone who could absorb it, redirect it, and continue moving.
That quality was essential to the extraordinary Penthouse moment that followed. In 1979, Playboy and Penthouse openly competed to publish her first nude photographs, and Joanne Latham chose Penthouse, signing a major contract with Bob Guccione to appear in the magazine's September issue, which also marked the tenth anniversary of the U.S. edition. Named Pet of the Month, she appeared across nineteen pages, including the cover, and the issue became a sensation, selling on a scale that made magazine history and reportedly generating an enormous profit. She later appeared in the televised Pet of the Year pageant, sharing the stage with Frankie Valli in the opening segment and fashion show. Her visibility extended into other corners of pop culture as well, including memorable cover appearances for Witchfinder General's albums Death Penalty and Friends of Hell.
What lingers about Joanne Latham, though, is not only the spectacle of that rise, but the unusual shape of the life that followed. After a serious car accident in 1982, she stepped away from modeling, opened the first workout keep-fit studio in the UK, later studied drama, and eventually moved toward yoga teaching and healing arts, including work in Nassau with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre. In time, she also created a charity with her daughter. That arc gives her story a different kind of elegance. Joanne was never merely a sensation. She was a woman who kept reinventing the meaning of poise.
