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Savannah Smith, Playboy’s newest Playmate for May 2020, feels right at home working on cars.
The model, who grew up outside of Athens, Ga., describes herself as a tomboy who took the wheel when it came to her career. At age 19, she googled “open casting calls in Atlanta” and drove herself to the city, signing with her first agency that day. Fast forward to today, and Smith has stripped down in an auto body shop for the lifestyle magazine and shared she would love to become “a new-wave Martha Stewart with a Jeep Wagoneer.”
Smith spoke to Fox News about what it was like appearing in Playboy, being home-schooled and coping with criticism.
Savannah Smith is Playboy's newest Playmate for May 2020. (Graham Dunn/Playboy)
Fox News: You are officially the Playmate for May 2020. What does that title mean to you?
Savannah Smith: It’s a new chapter in my life. I shot for Playboy right before turning 25 and I felt it was a sign from the universe that all of my hard work was paying off and that I am on the right path. I’m now part of a family, a sisterhood. I’m surrounded by all of these amazing, powerful women. It’s just an honor to be considered one of them.
Fox News: How were you discovered by Playboy?
Smith: It’s funny, it was the day before I moved to New York City. I was on my way to my grandparents’ house. An agent reached out to me through an email and said, “Would you be interested in modeling for Playboy?” At first, I thought, “This is obviously a scam. There’s no way anyone is asking me that.”
But when I looked at the email carefully, that’s when it hit me. I had no idea this could be a new reality for me. I met one of the casting directors on FaceTime and soon enough I was heading to one of their launch parties. I was so surprised - every single person I met at Playboy was so kind and accepting. They really let me be in the driver’s seat of this entire experience.
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Savannah Smith said she was in her element shooting for Playboy. (Graham Dunn/Playboy)
Fox News: What was the photoshoot like for you?
Smith: It took a while before that took place. I actually thought that maybe they had forgotten about me or maybe I wasn’t getting into Playboy after all. But then out of nowhere, it was like, “Your shoot is next week.” I was thrown into it, which was actually nice because I didn’t have time to overthink it or freak out.
The shoot was completely different from what I expected They asked me about my childhood, my personality and how I wanted it to look. I had a lot a say in the creative direction. So when I walked in on set, it wasn’t a surprise. I got a say in everything so it was really a comforting experience. And for some reason, I was not shy about shooting nude at all. I was more shy doing the interview actually *laughs*. I’m so comfortable in front of a camera, but when it came time for the interview, it was about me, Savannah Smith, the person.
Fox News: In the interview, you described feeling entirely in your element posing nude at an auto body shop. Why?
Smith: I think part of it is because I was raised by hippies who made me feel that I was always very comfortable in my skin. The other part is that I’m a total tomboy. I grew up with two older brothers and I’ve always loved working on cars. El Camino is surprisingly one of my dream cars. So I felt very much at home in an auto body shop.
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Fox News: Growing up, you were home-schooled. What was that experience like for you?
Smith: I have severe dyslexia which is something I don’t really talk about because it does not affect my day-to-day life. But when I was growing up, public schools in Georgia did not treat this as a real learning disability. I don’t think they even thought of this as a real thing. With my brother, they acted like he was just a stubborn child because he couldn’t read or write. My mother saw all of this and witnessed how his self-esteem was being affected. She was working for child protective services and teaching parenting classes.
She told my dad, “I will never ask for a nice house, a new car or fancy vacations. But I just can’t sit here and tell parents how to raise their children the best way for them when I know my children are also in need.” She hired two dyslexic tutors for [my brother and me]. It worked out really wonderfully for our family. Obviously, it’s different for everyone. But the experience gave us the ability to travel with my dad because he was out of town a lot for our childhood [for work]/ There were times where I was like, “I wish I was in school because I feel like an outsider.”
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As a child, you want to belong and it can be hard to find your place. But we had a big group of friends. And looking back on it, I feel like I would not have been prepared to be in the modeling industry if I had the pressures of having a bunch of other kids make fun of me or bring down my self-esteem. I was 19 when I started modeling and I had a really high sense of self-worth. I didn’t feel like somebody could tell me that I wasn’t good enough or my butt was too big. My reality wasn’t shattered. For me personally, I just felt I had better self-esteem than if I hadn’t been home-schooled.
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Savannah Smith initially thought an offer to appear in Playboy was a scam. (Graham Dunn/Playboy)
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Fox News: You started going to casting calls at 19. Did you ever face any kind of criticism early on in your career?
Smith: Oh, totally. I feel like the first two years were kind of a back and forth battle of not feeling good enough because I was told that my body wasn’t the right way. I wanted to be part of this industry for as long as I can remember. There were even times when I was upset with my parents for not getting me into the industry when I was younger because I met so many girls who started as early as 14.
But as I said, I felt that at age 19 I had a better sense of self-esteem to tackle that because of my experience. I knew that opinions weren’t valid. So by the time I reached 20, I felt like I was able to block out that negative energy. But I can’t even describe how much things have changed. Nobody comments on my body anymore. Nobody makes me feel like I have to be a certain way just to get jobs. I think everyone is going to have a similar experience to some degree if they pursue modeling. But the industry has gotten better at it for sure.
Savannah Smith said she didn't feel shy posing for Playboy. (Graham Dunn/Playboy)
Fox News: What do you miss the most about living in the South?
Smith: My family - they are all still there I miss the slower style of life, but I haven’t been gone that long to miss it too much. Growing up, I did feel like I was in a little bit of a bubble. All the people around me were from Georgia. They all spoke the same language. They all had the same political and religious beliefs. I’ve only been in New York City for a year now, but it’s been nice to broaden my horizons and push my limits to see how other people live.
Fox News: In your Playboy interview, you also talked about using modeling as a platform. What’s your message?
Smith: I think about this a lot. I used to think I would go on a more conventional route. I wanted to be a social worker and work with underserved children… I want to empower children and make them feel they are worthy of anything. They can do whatever they desire. That was something I was given. I believe that’s why I feel so centered in my life. That’s why I feel so worthy of achieving anything I want. I was a preschool teacher for four years and I volunteered with special needs children.
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Eventually, I want to get back to working with underserved children and their parents. And in time, with more life experience, I would like to write parenting books with my mom. [But] what’s my message? I want to show young women and even men they are worthy of achieving anything they want. You can absolutely make it.
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