Having achieved fame as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends on the popular E! Channel show Girls Next Door, Bridget Marquardt accomplished a lifelong goal when she became a Playboy Playmate. With a Master's Degree in communications, this actress/Reality TV star is still taking classes and now setting her sites on eventually hosting her own show someday. With a positive attitude and ambition to burn, it isn't surprising that Marquardt has been as successful as she has.

Also, those drop dead looks probably aren't hurting her either.

With Girls Next Door: Season 1 coming out on DVD August 1st, Bridget took time out of her busy schedule to sit down and talk about the show and how this experience has changed her life.

Were you nervous at all about leaving Lodi and moving into the Playboy Mansion?

Bridget Marquardt: No. It was a gradual process for me. It wasn't quite that quick. I moved from Lodi to the Bay Area and I went pursuing Playboy. Then I moved to L.A. and started coming to some of the parties and then started going out with them, and then eventually got asked to move in. So it was a really slow process for me. It wasn't like he called me in Lodi and I just whipped right down here.

Was that a big adjustment for you when you moved in?

Bridget Marquardt: Not really because like I said, it was such a slow process. I had my apartment in L.A. and I was coming here, and I was going out and spending the night quite a bit because we'd go out partying and stay out late. I was going back and forth and I was here more than I was at my apartment. Finally, Hef was like, "You should just move all your stuff over here." And I was like, "Yeah, why don't I do that!"

What did your parents think when you told them you were going to be moving into the Playboy Mansion?

Bridget Marquardt: (Laughs) Well, they knew that I wanted to be part of Playboy for a really long time and they were excited. They knew each step as it happened like, "Oh, I'm going to a party." Or, "Now I get to go with Hef and the girls." Or, "Now, I'm moving in." They were just really excited and could see each step taking place.

Are you still taking classes? How is that going?

Bridget Marquardt: I am still taking classes. I have a Master's Degree in Communications but I am doing UCLA Extension for Broadcast Journalism courses because I want to get a certificate in that. And, I'm also taking Spanish classes.

Is there an ultimate goal with that or are you just taking classes because you enjoy being a student?

Bridget Marquardt: My ultimate goal now is to host my own show. I would love to host a travel show, Spooky Travels or Best Hot Dog in L.A., something for the Food Network or the Travel Channel. That would be ideal for me right now. I'm also taking them because I just enjoy taking classes. That's why I'm taking Spanish. I wanna be bilingual. I believe in keep educating yourself.

What is the most exciting part about doing the Girls Next Door TV show?

Bridget Marquardt: Well, one it's brought all of us girls even closer than we were before. The other thing is, the perks and the opportunities that we're getting are amazing. Doors are starting to open, things that we were never considered for before, like being in the magazine and appearing on talk shows. I got to do the opening segment for "Extra." Just little opportunities like that that we haven't gotten in the past and it's all because of our show.

What's it like to have cameras on you all the time? Did it take you awhile to get used to that?

Bridget Marquardt: Definitely. At first I was just like, "Oh, my gosh! This sucks, I have stop doing everything to get micced. And I had a list of twenty things I wanted to go and do today and I can only get five things done, that's because it's slower with the crew with you. And half the things they can't get permission to go to." I was really getting kinda frustrated and bummed out and then you start getting used to them. You kinda start getting friendly with them and then when it's over I miss them. I'm like, "Where's my entourage? Where's all my friends that go everywhere with me?"

So they really do try and track you 24/7 when you're doing the show?

Bridget Marquardt: When we're doing the show yes but we don't do the show 24/7. We probably film about four or five days a week and they're twelve hour days.

What can you tell us about Season 2 of Girls Next Door?

Bridget Marquardt: We went to Europe for two weeks and we did spend the last three days in Italy. I absolutely loved it. I only got to see the tip of the iceberg but I am planning a whole itinerary for going back and all the things I need to see. We go to Kendra's hometown of San Diego. We celebrate Kendra's 21st birthday in Las Vegas and Hef doesn't come with us so it gets pretty wild. We get to shoot another cover for the magazine and another pictorial. It's actually coming out this week.

This particular issue I'm really excited about; the cover's super cute. We made Playboy history because we got the front and the back. So the front is us looking out the window and then the back of it you see our butts and the back of our hair and everything, looking out that same window. They actually shot it simultaneously so it was actually really difficult to do. Our pictorial inside is amazing because we each got to pick our own theme. We got to totally art direct what our whole pictorial was gonna be.

What might you do if you left the mansion? Would you still try and do a talk show of your own?

Bridget Marquardt: I would definitely still pursue that. I might even have better opportunities if I wasn't here, just because we're on a limited schedule with Hef. Being here also provides it's share of opportunities so it's hard to say, but I would definitely still pursue that especially because Season One has opened so many doors.

What was it like doing Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David?

Bridget Marquardt: That was one of the coolest things that we've gotten to do. When they showed us the script, it's literally just an idea. This is what we're doing. We have a smoking jacket that looks the same and we get them confused and stuff. Hef doesn't think there's another one like it and you girls are kind of awkward around Larry, and then everything else is just ad-libbed! We sat there and improvised with him for three different five minute scenes and they were so funny. It was hard to keep a straight face and I wished they would have used more of them, or shown the outtakes because it was really fun and we had a great time. I thought it was hysterical and everyone on the set was cracking up. It was so cool just to improvise. We didn't have cue cards, we didn't have lines we had to memorize you just improvise.

Girls Next Door: Season 1 is available now on DVD through Fox Home Entertainment.