Hugh Hefner's widow, Crystal, files to legally ditch his last name

New York Post

18-07-2025

What's in a name?
Hugh Hefner's widow, formerly known as Crystal Hefner, 39, is now going back to her maiden name.
She filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court to legally change her name from Crystal Margaret Hefner to Crystal Margaret Harris, reported Us Weekly.
'I am a widow and reclaiming my maiden name,' the former Playboy model reportedly wrote in her filing.
9 Hugh Hefner and Crystal Hefner at Playboy Mansion's Annual Halloween Bash on October 25, 2014.
Getty Images for Playboy
The playboy mogul died in 2017 at 91. Harris was Hefner's third wife – the former couple, who had a 60-year age gap, were married from 2012 until his death.
In her 2024 memoir, 'Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself,' she wrote, 'I was never in love with Hef, but I loved this old man in the ways you are supposed to love your elders.'
Her name change comes ahead of her upcoming nuptials to microbiologist James Ward.
9 Hugh Hefner poses with Playboy Bunnies Playmate of the Year 2013 Raquel Pomplun (2nd L) and Crystal Hefner at Playboy's 60th Anniversary special event on January 16, 2014.
Getty Images for Playboy
9 Crystal Hefner at the Premiere of 'My Truth: The Rape Of Two Coreys' at Directors Guild Of America on March 9, 2020.
Getty Images
In a lengthy Instagram post in June, Harris spoke out about her desire to return to her maiden name.
'To everyone I've had to block: I'm exhausted. If you've harassed me, you're gone. I don't owe anyone access to my peace,' she wrote.
'But to those who are here with open hearts, who genuinely support my journey — thank you.'
9 Crystal Harris, formerly Hefner, in April 2025.
crystalhefner/Instagram
9 Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris celebrate Hefner's 85th birthday April 9, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
WireImage
She explained, 'The media and the trolls of the world told me I wasn't enough without the name, without the house, without the image. I came from nothing. I had spent a lifetime feeling small. So I clung to the story I was fed. And it worked — for a while.'
She added that, under the Hefner name, she made 'eight figures' and 'launched businesses.'
'But here's the thing — none of that was ever about the name,' she said.
9 Crystal Hefner attends GBK Brand Bar Pre-Oscar luxury lounge at Beverly Wilshire, on March 8, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
Getty Images for GBK Brand Bar
The star continued, 'It was about me. And now, I want my name back. Crystal Margaret Harris. Not because I'm ashamed of who I was — but because I finally know who I am.'
In a 2024 interview with People, Harris said she 'lost herself' in her relationship with the Playboy founder.
'At the time I thought I was on top. I thought, 'Wow, if I just like everything that he likes and do all the things that he wants me to do, then I'm the favorite.' And I was, but I just lost myself in the process.'
9 Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris celebrate Hugh Hefner's 84th birthday on April 10, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
WireImage
'I realized I was dealing with a really big power imbalance,' Crystal said.
'It seemed like a world of success and fantasy, but everyone's having to sleep with an 80-year-old. There's a price. Everything has a price.'
The former Playboy Playmate of the Month also divulged how restrictive the lifestyle at the mansion was for her and the other Bunnies while under Hefner's roof.
9 Crystal Harris on the cover of the July 2011 Playboy magazine.
Playboy
She added that he would give each of his 'girlfriends' an allowance that he handed to them in neat bills.
Harris recalled that when her natural brown hair started to show its roots beneath the blonde dye, 'I'd have to go bleach it and it would burn my scalp and I'd have blisters.'
'But for some reason, I thought this was all normal and that's what it meant to be seen as beautiful in Hef's eyes.'
9 Karissa Shannon, Kristina Shannon, Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris at AFI Lifetime Achievement Award: A Tribute to Michael Douglas on June 11, 2009 in Culver City, California.
Getty Images
Hefner's former girlfriend, Holly Madison, 45, had a similar sentiment, exclusively telling The Post in April that the Playboy mansion felt like a 'cult.'
'You can't even say — not even something bad, but you can even say something bad-adjacent about him without being like, excommunicated,' Madison said.
In July 2023, Harris told The Post why she decided to name her book 'Only Say Good Things.'
Hefner's widow revealed that she once had 'a conversation with Hef and he let me know: 'Once I go, when I'm gone, please only say good things about me.''
She explained, 'I kept that promise for the last five years. After going through a lot of therapy and healing, I realized that I needed to be honest about my time there. The book is about healing from a toxic environment.'