‏Stephanie Branton‏

"Some people back home said I couldn't do it," Branton told Playboy. "I just knew inside that if I took a leap of faith and worked hard, I could make this happen. I never gave up."

The lack of opportunities for a modeling career in her hometown pushed Branton to make the move to Toronto, where she began quite a career for herself. She modeled for print, shot commercials and appeared in music videos. The future Playmate got her break when she landed a gig at a Playboy Golf event and was approached by casting directors. They asked if she was already a Playmate, and when they found out she wasn't they told her she should pose for photographer Josh Ryan in Los Angeles. Branton jumped on the opportunity. She packed up her life in Canada and made her way to Los Angeles to see what Playboy had in store for her.

Branton started off as a Coed for Playboy, shooting several pictorials and videos. She was featured in Playboy's "Northern Star" series with other Canadian Playboy models and Playmates. It didn't take long for Branton to be made Miss September 2014, and she said she couldn't be more excited to join the Playmate family.

For her shoot, Playboy took Stephanie down to Louisiana's Nottoway Plantation and Resort. She felt right at home, both in the sultry, sociable South ("I feel like an honorary Southern belle," she says) and in front of the camera. "I don't see myself as a sexpot type in real life," said Miss September, "but I love getting into that character as a model. I love giving hot. Although I can be shy and quiet at times, I am a bit of an exhibitionist. I'm comfortable, as they might say in Louisiana, getting' naked."