‘Lethally Blonde’ Star Holly Madison Opens Up About Modeling in College: ‘I Would Do All Kinds of Things’

Holly Madison opened up about the modeling jobs she took in college in the sixth episode of season 2 of her true crime series. Deadly blonde on the discovery of the investigation.

“When I was a student in Los Angeles, I did all kinds of things,” Madison shares in the episode. “I worked for Hawaiian Tropic. They would pay you to show up to events in a Hawaiian Tropics shirt and give you some money. And that would give you photos.

The season finale, titled “A Model Murder”, aired on April 29 and follows the 1992 murder of aspiring model Kimberly Pandelios in Los Angeles.

Pandelios, a mother of one, disappeared after meeting with a photographer to prepare for a photoshoot.

“As a fledgling model, Kimberly constantly needed to be on the lookout for the next job or the next thing that could possibly pay her bills or propel her to the next level,” Madison explains. “Unfortunately, because there is no one regulating the modeling industry – there is no real union – there are all sorts of scams that aspiring models could fall into.”

The former Playmate explains the dangers, saying: “They might be convinced to do things they’re not comfortable doing.” They could be removed. Especially when you reach the amateur level, you start to see sex work and sex trafficking infiltrate the modeling industry.

In a previous episode, Madison talked about some of the people involved in the industry and how they don’t always have the models’ “best interests” in mind. She said: “You have agents, directors and producers all trying to get this finished product. It’s a business and people are there to make money…They’re not there to be your friend.

Madison also mentioned that talent is not always provided with security once they leave the workplace. “You are very safe, you are behind these doors, you have security. But when you leave, artists find themselves in situations where their safety may be at risk,” she said.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, registered sex offender David Rademaker was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2006 for the 1992 murder. Rademaker used an alias to bring Pandelios to the Angeles National Forest under covered in a photo shoot. He later raped and drowned Pandelios in a shallow river.

Deadly blonde is broadcast on Discovery+.