Jessica Biel Joins Playboy Movie — Hugh Hefner’s Widow Warns

Update — 10/12/2026: Crystal Harris, who was married to Hugh Hefner from 2017 until his death, posted on Instagram the message she sent to Jessica Biel about joining the film. In it she urged the actress to reconsider playing Hefner’s wife if the project aims to romanticize him or the Playboy world. She wrote that, as someone who was married to him, she experienced sexual, emotional, financial and physical abuse during the relationship. Harris also referenced numerous allegations from other women accusing Hefner of rape, coercion, drug administration and exploitation, and raised serious concerns about minors.

Harris concluded her statement: “I hope everyone involved in this movie will listen to the women who lived through these events before helping Hollywood turn it into a nostalgic story.”

End of update.

A few weeks ago it was revealed that Lorraine Nicholson — the daughter of legendary actor Jack Nicholson — would be writing and directing her first feature film. Titled Playmates, the movie draws on her own memories of growing up around the Playboy mansion, a setting known for lavish parties frequented by celebrities and models, seen before on screen in films like Super Blonde and briefly in Beverly Hills Cop II.

Jessica Biel to portray Hugh Hefner’s wife

The story centers on a 13-year-old girl named Indiana Elle, who treats the mansion like a second home and develops a friendship with one of the Playmates, portrayed by Lily-Rose Depp. Hugh Hefner, the founder of the magazine, will appear in the film played by Bill Pullman, and Variety reports that Jessica Biel has been cast as his wife — a former Playmate.

Although Hefner, who passed away in 2017, had many highly publicized relationships and multiple marriages in real life, Biel’s character will be fictional rather than a direct depiction of any specific spouse.

Over the past decade, Jessica Biel has appeared less frequently on the big screen but has headlined several television series, including The Sinner, Limetown, Candy: Murder in Texas and Complicit. She’s currently leading the action movie Matchbox alongside John Cena, which is set to premiere on Apple TV on October 9. No release date has been announced yet for Lorraine Nicholson’s Playmates.

Playmates — coming soon to theaters.