Instagram/Shera Bechard
A married top Republican fundraiser has resigned after admitting that he paid his Playboy Playmate lover $1.6 million after she became pregnant with their love child. That playmate has been identified as Canadian Shera Bechard, 34, who was Playmate of the Month in November 2010 and November 2011. The payment was orchestrated by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, reports the Wall Street Journal. Broidy, a venture capitalist based in Los Angeles, resigned on April 13 after admitting to the affair.
The Journal report says that the names used in the $1.6 million deal by Cohen were David Dennison and Peggy Peterson. The hush agreement was set up to keep Bechard quiet about the affair and her abortion. Those are the same names used in the Donald Trump/Stormy Daniels agreement.
Broidy was appointed to the role of Republican National Committee deputy finance chair by Donald Trump. His resignation was accepted by RNC chair Ronna McDaniel. In a statement to the Journal, Broidy said, “I acknowledge I had a consensual relationship with a Playboy Playmate.” He added, “At the end of our relationship, this woman shared with me that she was pregnant. She alone decided that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy and I offered to help her financially during this difficult period. It is unfortunate that this personal matter between two consenting adults is the subject of national discussion just because of Michael Cohen’s involvement.”
In his statement prior to his resignation, Broidy said that he used Michael Cohen in the deal because Cohen had dealt with Bechard’s attorney previously. That lawyer, Keith Davidson, has also represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in their claims against Donald Trump.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Pair Had an ‘Exclusive’ Sexual Relationship
The Wall Street Journal’s report details that Bechard had an exclusive sexual relationship with Broidy that lasted between one to two years. The New York Times reports that Broidy had agreed to pay Bechard in installments over two years. The same Times article says that Bechard is no longer represented by Keith Davidson and is now represented by Peter Stris, who is also Karen McDougal’s lawyer.
Stris said in a statement, “Ms. Bechard is deeply distressed that someone has revealed information regarding her and Elliott Broidy. She had no intention of making this painful information public, and requests respect for her privacy at this difficult time. As this story unfolds, we hope that its focus remains on the profoundly disturbing and repeated collusion between Donald Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen, and Ms. Bechard’s former lawyer, Keith Davidson.”
2. In November 2011, Hugh Hefner Said He Was Dating Bechard
During a 2012 appearance on Kendra Wilkinson’s reality show Kendra on Top, Bechard is credited as “Hef’s girlfriend.” In November 2011, Hefner tweeted that he was dating Bechard by writing, “Shera is both our 2010 Playmate & my new girlfriend.” That news came just after Hefner announced he had split from fiancee Crystal Harris. The Hollywood Reporter said at the time that Bechard had been living in the Playboy Mansion since March 2011, along with her cats, Arthur and Rufus, as well as her rabbit, Ziggy.
Twitter/Shera Bechard
The Daily Mail reported in July 2011 that Bechard went by the moniker, “SheraLovsHef.” Bechard explained how she got discovered by Playboy in an interview with Guys Nation, “It was pure fluke. I went to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last May to meet a friend. Playboy cartoonist Doug Sneyd happened to be there and my friend thought it’d be fun to have him draw my photo. As Doug was drawing me we got to talking and he said that I should be in Playboy. Long story short, I sent some of my modeling pics to Doug, and he sent them to Hef, and two weeks later I was flown down to do a test shoot. Then one month later I shot my November pictorial.”
In a 2010 interview with the Kapuskasing Times, Bechard described meeting Hefner for the first time saying, “It was both thrilling and nerve wracking meeting Hef because he’s a living legend. But ultimately he’s a really great, down-to-earth guy. He’s also a warm and caring person and very supportive. But I’ll never get over the fact that he now knows me personally by name.”
3. Bechard’s Sole Acting Credit Was 2009 ‘Sweet Karma’ Where She Played a Mute Russian Girl
Bechard explained in a July 2012 interview that she is in the United States on an O-1 visa. That visa indicates that she is considered an alien of extraordinary ability. A Time magazine feature on the visa suggested that it was Bechard’s “entreprenurial spirit” in started a brief hashtag trend, “Frisky Friday.” The hashtag encouraged women to post risque photos of themselves on Twitter.
Instagram/Shera Bechard
On her Instagram bio, Bechard says that she is a “Truth seeker, quirky playmate, fur baby mom and curvy coquettish Queen.” According to her Playboy profile, Bechard is a native of Kapuskasing, Ontario. The same town where Titanic director James Cameron was born.
On her IMDb page, Bechard says that during her modeling career, one of her photographers was Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. The model has performed in one movie, in 2009, titled Sweet Karma.
You can watch Sweet Karma here:
Bechard’s IMDb bio section is almost completely dedicated to her role in the film. It reads, “While conceiving the character of Karma, Andrew [Thomas Hunt] realized that Shera was a natural choice for the role, despite her having no previous acting experience. Her audition then solidified Andrew’s hunch. Although at first reluctant to take on such a demanding role, Shera quickly rose to the challenge. She took acting lessons, studied martial arts, learned how to handle a variety of weapons, and took a weekend workshop in the fine art of pole dancing. The end result speaks for itself, Shera is as captivating in motion pictures as she is in stills. But don’t expect to see Shera rush into her next film project, because unlike many women her age she has no desire to be a star. As such, Karma may not just be Shera’s first-ever acting role, it may possibly be her only one.”
Bechard said in a March 2011 interview with Screen Anarchy that Hefner had seen Sweet Karma and, ” was really impressed with my performance.” The Kapuskasing Times reports that in 2010, Bechard won the Next Wave Best Actress Award at the FantasticFest Film Festival in Austin.
4. Bechard Says One of Biggest Pet Peeves Is ‘People Who Don’t Care About the Environment’
On her official website, Bechard says that one of her biggest pet peeves is “people who don’t care about the environment.” Her other two peeves are, “People who abuse animals” and “people mistaking my shyness for snobbery.” She adds on that page that in five years, Bechard wanted to still be modeling and acting, in 15 years, she wanted to create her own perfumes because she “studied perfumery at a school in Paris, and hopes to go back for more.” In 30 years, Bechard says she wants to be “running a little bed and breakfast in Costa Rica.”
Twitter/Shera Bechard
Bechard says on her LinkedIn page that she is now self-employed with the CESD Talent Agency in Beverly Hills. In a 2011 interview with Screen Anarchy, Bechard said, “I’m not one of those people who wants to be famous or wants to try to do everything. I wanted to model for a while because I have the abilities for it, and I would have been happy with just that. Having had the chance now to act as well is a bonus.”
5. Broidy Has Been Married for 26 Years & Has 3 Children
Facebook/Robin BroidyElliott pictured with his wife, Robin Rosenzweig, on the eve of their 1992 wedding.
Broidy is married to former movie executive Robin Rosenzweig. Their family lives in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. The couple has three children together, Rachel, Lauren and Nathaniel.
Facebook/Elliott BroidyBroidy pictured with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu in 2014.
In March 2018, Rosenzweig found herself caught up in controversy when the Huffington Post published emails showing Elliott’s wife being in contact with a Malaysian businessman. Those emails indicated that she would be due $80 million if she could aid in the end of a Department of Justice investigation into the businessman. Elliott’s wife is also a lawyer. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Rosenzweig said that her email had been hacked.