Bridget Marquardt Shines on Red Carpet at 52

Bridget Marquardt was one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends who starred on his hit show Girls Next Door with and Kendra Wilkinson.

The blonde who was born in Tillamook,  but raised in California also posed for the cover of Hefner's legendary magazine, Playboy, several times.

These days she stays busy with the paranormal investigation podcast Ghost Magnet With Bridget Marquardt and Girls Next Level with Madison, but does not hit splashy events as much as she used to 20 years ago.

This week the beauty made a rare red carpet sighting at the BANFF World Media Festival in Alberta, .

See what she looks like now at age 52.

Marquardt was raised in , where she graduated from Lodi High School then San Joaquin Delta College and University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Friends told her she was a perfect fit for Playboy magazine, so she mailed a letter to the publication asking to become a Playmate.

At the age of 25 in 1998, the graduate entered Playboy's Millennium Playmate search but didn't win. 

In 2001, Marquardt moved to Los Angeles for bigger fame and did local modeling jobs and small acting roles. 

She tested a few times to be a centerfold for Playboy, but it didn't work out. However, that led to her being invited to parties at Hefner's famed Playboy Mansion. 

The model hit it off with Hefner, a romance blossomed, and in October 2002 she moved into his notorious palace.

Fame hit when she was cast in The Girls Next Door which was followed by cover shoots for Playboy magazine. She was on the front of the November 2005, September 2006 and March 2008 issues. 

After that she appeared in several films, including the horror/comedy Kottentail as well as The House Bunny.

And she popped up on the TV shows Curb Your Enthusiasm then Entourage. In 2008, Marquardt appeared on an episode of NBC's Last Comic Standing along with Wilkinson and Madison then they were on Celebrity Family Feud.

February 2009 was Marquardt's final appearance in Playboy, in a nude photo spread with Madison and Wilkinson. 

After leaving Playboy, she hosted Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, a TV series on Travel Channel.

The early years of her love life have been somewhat of a mystery. 

Marquardt got married at a young age but he never entered the spotlight with her.

In 2008, she told E! News, 'I married my best friend when I was 23, but when I realized I wanted to move to LA to follow my dreams, we separated and eventually divorced.'

In a December 2008 interview, Marquardt stated that she had split from Hefner, and in early January 2009, it was reported that Marquardt had moved out of the Playboy Mansion.

In late 2008, Marquardt began dating director Nicholas Carpenter and they became engaged in 2015.

Not all of the Girls Next Door stars get along.

Last year Madison said she would love to repair her relationship with Wilkinson. 

The 46-year-old beauty hopes that Kendra feels similarly. 

Speaking to Us Weekly, Holly admitted: 'It would be nice to be on good terms for sure, but I really don't know where she's at. 'I look back at our relationship and what went wrong and I see a lot of fault with executive producers who [were] working on her show and my show after we left.' 

This week the beauty made a rare red carpet sighting at the BANFF World Media Festival which she shared on her Instagram page