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Nia Long has reached a point of absolute self-assurance, describing this era of her life as one of true freedom. When reflecting on what she loves most about this version of herself, she points to a newfound sense of “knowingness” and the hard-earned ability to stop second-guessing herself.

“Ooh, the trust—that I’m able to trust my instincts completely,” she tells us in her Spring 2026 Playboy Interview. For Long, this professional and personal clarity is the result of decades of “grinding it out” and refusing to compromise her vision.

Editor-in-Chief: Phillip Picardi
Executive Producer: George Wasgatt
Director of Photography: Ty Rogers
Producer: Kerriann Farrell
Sound: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Gaffer: Gianni Tullio
Editor: Celine Ordioni
Talent: Special Projects

At 55, Nia Long is embracing a new era of freedom—and she isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Reflecting on the evolution of her career and her enduring status as a cultural icon, she makes it clear that her best years are still ahead. “I’m going to still be hot at 65,” she tells us in her Spring 2026 Playboy Interview. “I’m about to start dating. That’s how hot it’s about to get.”

Editor-in-Chief: Phillip Picardi
Executive Producer: George Wasgatt
Director of Photography: Ty Rogers
Producer: Kerriann Farrell
Sound: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Gaffer: Gianni Tullio
Editor: Celine Ordioni
Talent: Special Projects

http://youtu.be/HGpvCLzE5tw

Ahead of next week’s “Michael” movie premiere, Nia Long reflects on the grace of Katherine Jackson and her first meeting with the King of Pop. “He was such a real person… he genuinely wanted to connect,” she tells us in her Spring 2026 Playboy Interview.

Editor-in-Chief: Phillip Picardi
Executive Producer: George Wasgatt
Director of Photography: Ty Rogers
Producer: Kerriann Farrell
Sound: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Gaffer: Gianni Tullio
Editor: Celine Ordioni
Talent: Special Projects

This month, the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” will hit theatres worldwide. And for Nia Long, the actress who has long reigned over Black cinema—from “Love Jones” to “Boyz n the Hood”—this could be her biggest (and most contested) film yet. While portraying the matriarch Katherine Jackson, she realized, “The work comes through me, not to me.”

In the Playboy Interview, the actress opens up to Jamilah Lemieux about her career, her dating life, and why she swears she’s not as exciting as the rap songs say she is. (We beg to disagree.)

Editor-in-Chief: Phillip Picardi
Executive Producer: George Wasgatt
Director of Photography: Ty Rogers
Producer: Kerriann Farrell
Sound: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Gaffer: Gianni Tullio
Editor: Celine Ordioni
Booking: Special Projects

Happy Karolchella. For 24 hours only, we’re unlocking our full @KarolG cover story on Playboy.com—in English and Spanish—in celebration of the global superstar making history as the first Latina to headline and close the festival.

“This is the first time in my life that I feel I’m going to see myself as the artist in the same caliber as the stage that I’m stepping on. I told [choreographer] Parris Goebel, ‘Don’t think of what I’m capable of; I want us to build the show that you dream of for me. Let’s unite our universes—you from dance, me from my Latina community. And I’ll figure out how to keep up.'”

Edit: Jason Gallagher and Celine Ordioni

“I think it’s really important to be naughty sometimes.” Miss April 2026, Lexee Smith, on being instantaneous, defying fear, and what makes her feel beautiful. Witness Miss April in her most “feral” form at Playboy.com.

Director: George Wasgatt
Creative, Playboy: Smiley Stevens
Director of Photography: Ty Rogers
Sound: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Assistant Camera: Gianni Tullio
Editor: Camille Getz

Go paw to paw with Miss April 2026, Lexee Smith. See every image from our pictorial with the industry’s favorite movement director at Playboy.com.

Director: George Wasgatt
Creative, Playboy: Smiley Stevens
Director of Photography: Ty Rogers
Sound: Gray Thomas-Sowers
Assistant Camera: Gianni Tullio
Editor: Camille Getz

Director: Renell Medrano
DP: Ben Carey
Styling: Carlos Nazario
Hair: Sonny Molina
Makeup: Sam Visser
Nails: Dawn Sterling
Body Glow: Mishel
Set Design: Griffin Stoddard
Production: AP Studio, Inc
Executive Creative Director: Adam Selman