Additional info: She grew up in the California desert three hours north of Los
Angeles. A tomboy growing up, she preferred motorcross to
dolls and dresses and was stacking up the trophies by the age
of 14. Travelling to different motorcross competitions with
her motorcycle, she didn't realized she was blossoming into
the stunning young woman who would grace the pages of
magazines in the years to come.
At the tender age of 18, an admiring family friend passed her
pictures onto Hugh Hefner and Rebekka's legacy began. She was
an immediate fixture in to star studded world of Hollywood,
it seemed a time when nothing could harm her. Movie deals
were beginning to come for her as well as commercials and
massive amounts of modeling. Her sunny disposition and
enthusiastic spirit brought her all she could desire.That is
until 1989, when she was diagnosed HIV positive. Oddly this
malady did not occur under the bright lights of Hollywood but
rather years before from either a blood transfusion during an
abortion or from the unsafe sex that brought about that
abortion in in that small desert town she called home.
Rebekka went public with her disease in 1994 in a cover story
for the magazine The Advocate. Instead of resigning herself
to hiding in the shadow of AIDS, Rebekka chose to dedicate
herself to preventing others from making the mistakes of
un-safe sex or drug use. Although she believes that there is
the possibility that the transfusion may have given her the
virus, she says "I would not have been having the abortion if
I had not been having unsafe sex."Rebekka now tours the
country taking part in educational programs and teaching
people about the reality of AIDS and how to prevent it.
Rebekka says of her life before being diagnosed as
HIV-positive, "I led an exciting life as a Playmate-
traveling, meeting tons of people, parties, etc.
Unfortunately, early on, I made a bad decision which will
affect the rest of my life. "She began suffering from severe
fatigue and other types of malaise and eventually sought
medical treatment. When the tests came back and the doctors
informed her of her illness, Rebekka went into shock. Like
many people who find out they have a life-threatening
disease, Rebekka couldn't believe it was happening to her.
Rebekka has been an active spokesperson at the POZ Life
Expos, which have been taking place in cities across the
country since 1994. "I am thrilled to be a part of these
events and to have the opportunity to speak to a large number
of people, "Rebekka said. "While AIDS is such a frightening
topic that scares people off, it is events like this that
succeed in getting people involved, educated and united in
fighting this horrible disease."
Rebekka currently lives in Los Angeles. Although she has had
the virus for over 14 years, she is in excellent health. Due
to new medications and a super healthy lifestyle Rebekka's
viral load is undetectable and her T-Cell count is normal
(over 800). Actively involved in physical fitness, she
dedicates every morning to jogging and body building. She
says she has never felt better. A drama documentary about her
remarkable life is being be made by Antonia Bird, who
directed such films as; "Safe", "The Priest", "Face", "Mad
Love" and "Ravenous".
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