Devin DeVasquez: Life Above The Line

Her influence is undeniable. She was a Playboy Playmate, dated pop superstar Prince at the height of his fame, as well as Sylvester Stallone, and later married Ronn Moss, the star of The Bold and the Beautiful and singer of the hit song “Baby Come Back.” But as the actress and bestselling author explains it, she was always building her own life alongside these famous partners, not just living in their shadow. In a recent interview, she reflected on resilience and reinvention, sharing a funny story that perfectly illustrates how she’s changed the people in her life.

Devin joked that her husband, Ronn, once threatened, “I’ll divorce you if you ever become one of those women who carries a dog in a purse.” But today, it’s Ronn who can be seen carrying their little teacup Yorkie Chihuahua, Mr. Prince, in just such a bag. The anecdote shows Devin’s quiet power: when she puts her mind to something, it happens.

Devin doesn’t believe in coicidence and her dog’s name is one such example. Rescued after his owners died in a car crash, the tiny creature arrived with the mundane name Spencer. But one look told DeVasquez otherwise. “You’re not Spencer,” she told him. “You’re Prince.” (Now Mr. Prince  @MrPrince1999 on Instagram) travels with them everywhere, channeling the rock star’s ruffled shirts and big personality in four-pound form. The only time you will hear him bark is when the crowd applauds Ronn after one of his emotional concerts. This story is part of a larger, more honest conversation.

Over Prosecco in Rome, with the sunset on the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, she talked openly about her life, the lessons learned from past mistakes, and the difference between being seen by the public and being truly known by the people in your life. She details this “soap opera” existence in her book, The Day It Snowed in April — a title drawn from her favorite Prince song, and one of many she believes he wrote about her. (When he wanted to reach her, even after she married and moved to Tennessee, he would call Playboy, and Playboy would call her on his behalf.)

The memoir almost didn’t happen. After Prince’s death in 2016, DeVasquez felt moved to write down her memories of their three-year relationship and friendship. But when she read it back, she cried. “I can’t put this out,” she remembers thinking. “This is too personal.” Then came the signs.

She asked the late musician for a signal, and he delivered with what she calls his characteristic sense of humor: a street sign in Studio City that read “Barn Owls Are Coming.” Soon after, two rare white barn owls appeared at her home for three consecutive nights, screaming like Prince on stage and drawing the couple outside. A rescued dog that uncannily resembled him sealed it. She published the book herself.

For DeVasquez, who won $100,000 on Star Search in an era when “exotic” women rarely appeared on television, who held her own with Johnny Carson, and who once cooked gumbo for Prince’s father, Mr. Nelson, at the house where the Menendez murders later occurred — well, life has always moved at this velocity. She was discovered by a Playboy photographer, met Hugh Hefner, and found herself under Prince’s management company (Cavallo, Ruffalo and Fargnoli) all within a dizzying week. “I was busy living,” she says now, repeating her father’s admonition that she should have kept a diary.

But when the experiences are this vivid, the moments stay etched in memory.  But what emerges from both her book and her conversation isn’t a name-dropping memoir. It’s a portrait of a woman who, even amid the Purple Rain and Hollywood neon, maintained enough sense of self to tell Prince she wouldn’t sing (“I don’t want to be in your shadow like Vanity and Apollonia”), to navigate Sylvester Stallone’s orbit, and eventually to find her way to producing — winning three Emmys alongside her husband, Ronn Moss, for the digital drama series The Bay. 

The takeaway from our conversation wasn’t about celebrity, but about how, after decades in front of the camera, she has finally achieved something rare: she has learned to love and be completely, unguardedly herself. Whether that means carrying a tiny dog in a purse she never used to own, or finally telling the story of the enigmatic genius who once whispered in her ear at dinner so she would order for him, DeVasquez has arrived at something like peace. “I felt more naked writing this book than I did posing for Playboy,” she admits. “Because this is emotion. You can show your body. But this…” She trails off, then smiles. Mr. Prince, looks up at her from his bag…it’s time for the questions. 

You dated Prince in 1985 and Sylvester Stallone in 1988—two of the most iconic and intensely creative men of their era. Without delving into gossip, what did you observe about the intersection of genius, fame, and intimacy that surprised you?

I watched Prince becoming the icon he is known to be today and how that fame grew and I learned alot from being around him and his management who were also my managers when I began acting. Back then I didn’t understand why Prince hated the press so much and didn’t want anyone in his inner circle to talk about him and now I understand why.

You’ve been married to actor and musician Ronn Moss since 2009. In an industry and culture where long-term partnerships often falter under the weight of ego and schedule, what is the unspoken agreement that has sustained your marriage?

Honesty always is the key to any relationship no matter what or how bad you think it may be, it’s always best to be honest with your mate and stay in gratitude for every moment spent together.

You’ve been the object of the male gaze since your twenties. How has your relationship with being “looked at” evolved, and what do you see when you look back at that young woman on the centerfold?

It’s funny to look back for me now knowing what I know today because if I had that knowledge back when I was 21 and becoming a Playmate, I could have been dangerous instead of sweet and naive. I’ve always been a bit shy and never comfortable being looked at all the time, but to model that girl for photos is something I became very good at and made a living from channeling that for photos and film.

Your book True Age, Timeless Beauty suggests something beyond skincare routines. For women of significant means who have access to the world’s best doctors and aestheticians, what is the internal work they might be neglecting?

That book was inspired by an attorney friend asking me about my beauty secrets because I was nearly 40 at the time and he thought I should write a book on it. I didn’t have any ritualistic beauty secrets or creams I used and began to think of our spiritual beauty that inner beauty we all have that when in balance with other aspects of life makes us ageless and beautiful.

You interviewed the legendary Bettie Page for The Naked Truth About a Pinup Model. What was the most unexpected thing she revealed?

She didn’t know she was an icon when I informed her that she had inspire fashion with Madonna’s bullet bra she wore in her shows and that artists were painting her because of her bangs. She said she was surprised to hear that people remembered her from her modeling days because it was so controversial what she did with fetish photos in the 50s and the most surprising thing she said to me was that I was the first woman to interview her who had done the type of photos she had done because she was also a Playboy Playmate.

You’ve acted in cult classics like Society, mainstream films like Can’t Buy Me Love, and daytime television. You’ve also produced award-nominated content (The Bay). Is there a particular kind of story or character that you find yourself drawn to?

Yes, I would like to be strong character instead of a cheesecake character because I’ve always been hired mostly for my looks as the sexy girl or the bad girl who happens to be sexy. I think at my age now I can do that finally.

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