Millie Williams — later known as Millie Hefner Gunn — was an American teacher, corporate employee, and civic participant best remembered publicly as the first wife of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. But as her family and friends made clear in tributes following her death in December 2025, her life was defined far more by decades of work, education, and an unusually full late life than by a marriage that ended when she was still in her early thirties.
Quick Facts About Millie Williams
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Mildred Marie Joan Williams Hefner Gunn |
| Born | March 10, 1926, Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | December 13, 2025, Chicago, Illinois, aged 99 |
| Education | University of Illinois |
| Professions | Teacher; retail salesperson; human resources coordinator, Playboy Enterprises |
| First Husband | Hugh Hefner (married 1949, divorced 1959) |
| Children | Christie Hefner and David Hefner |
| Later Spouses | Edwin Gunn; Pierre Rohrbach |
Who Was Millie Williams?
Millie Williams was an American teacher and longtime Playboy Enterprises employee, best known publicly for her decade-long first marriage to Hugh Hefner, whom she married in 1949, four years before he founded Playboy magazine. While that connection brought her a degree of lasting public interest, those who knew her later in life have made clear it captured only a small fraction of who she actually was — a university graduate, dedicated employee, civic volunteer, and, by every account, a genuinely engaged presence in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives well into her nineties.
Early Life in Chicago
Mildred Williams was born in Chicago on March 10, 1926, one of five daughters of Henry Williams, a streetcar conductor, and Mary Micoley, a homemaker. Music ran through her childhood — she and all four of her sisters learned instruments, with Millie playing violin — instilling a lifelong love of concerts and opera that stayed with her for the rest of her life.
Meeting Hugh Hefner
Millie met Hugh Hefner while the two were students at Steinmetz High School on Chicago’s Northwest Side. They kept in touch through his years in the U.S. Army and while both attended college, with Millie going on to the University of Illinois, where she graduated and remained a devoted fan of the school’s football team for the rest of her life — she was known to mention, with real pride, that the Illini went to the Rose Bowl while she was a student there.
Marriage and the Birth of Playboy
Millie and Hugh married in 1949, initially living with Hefner’s parents while they saved toward their own apartment. At the time, Hefner was earning around $60 a week writing copy in the promotion department of Esquire magazine — a modest income far removed from the publishing empire he’d later build. Their daughter, Christie Ann Hefner, was born in 1952, and their son, David Paul Hefner, followed in 1955.
It was during this period, working from their Chicago apartment, that Hefner assembled the first issue of Playboy, featuring Marilyn Monroe on its cover. Released in 1953, it sold more than 50,000 copies, launching a publication whose circulation would soon reach into the millions. Millie witnessed this earliest chapter of the company’s history firsthand, even though she was never publicly presented as part of its founding.
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The Marriage’s End
Millie and Hugh’s marriage ended after roughly a decade, with their divorce generally dated to 1959 (some accounts place the exact date slightly differently, though 1959 is the most consistently cited year). Millie was awarded custody of Christie and David and moved with them to Chicago’s North Side. Specific personal reasons behind the marriage’s end have been reported inconsistently across different sources over the years, so they’re best left undetailed rather than repeated as settled fact.
Her Children, Christie and David
Christie Hefner joined Playboy Enterprises in 1975 and went on to serve as the company’s chairman and CEO for more than two decades, becoming one of the most prominent business leaders associated with the Playboy name — a notably different public role than her mother’s own, more private connection to the company. David Hefner pursued a quieter path, working as a computer systems analyst and living a life largely outside public attention. Millie and Hugh maintained a close, cooperative relationship with both children as they grew up, even though, as Christie has said in interviews, Hugh wasn’t a especially hands-on father given his demanding career.
Life After Hefner: Ed Gunn and Pierre Rohrbach
After her divorce from Hefner, Millie married Ed Gunn, a partner at the law firm that had handled her divorce. The family settled in Wilmette, Illinois, where Millie became active in local Democratic politics and took up competitive golf, duplicate bridge, and bowling. Christie and David used the Gunn surname for a time before eventually returning to their biological father’s name, Hefner. That marriage also ended in divorce.
Millie went on to marry Pierre Rohrbach, a Swiss immigrant and hairstylist, and the two shared a long marriage built around travel, golf, and a shared love of opera and cultural events. Rohrbach died before Millie.
Her Career: Teaching, Playtique, and Human Resources
Millie began her professional life as a schoolteacher, working in education during the early years of her marriage to Hefner. She later returned to paid work at Playtique, a Playboy Enterprises retail concept combining fashion and music merchandise, located in the company’s North Michigan Avenue building. When Playtique closed, she moved into Playboy’s human resources department, coordinating employee service awards, tuition reimbursement programs, relocations, and workplace events — steady, operational work she continued well into her seventies, long after many of her peers had retired.
A Full Life in Retirement
Even after leaving Playboy Enterprises, Millie kept building. She completed the University of Chicago’s Great Books program and volunteered as a reading tutor for kindergarteners in North Chicago — work that echoed the teaching career she’d begun decades earlier. She also took flying lessons, curled, and remained an enthusiastic traveler with Rohrbach well into her later decades.
Her Death and Family Tributes
Millie Williams died peacefully in her Chicago apartment on December 13, 2025, at age 99. She moved to The Clare, a senior living facility on Chicago’s Near North Side, in 2021. Her daughter Christie described her warmly in the days after her death: “My mom was my biggest cheerleader and inspiration, and a joy to be with. She was smart and funny and full of life until the very end.” She’s survived by Christie, David, and their families.
Final Thoughts
Millie Williams’s public identity will likely always be tied to her decade-long marriage to Hugh Hefner and the earliest days of Playboy. But the fuller record of her life — a university degree, decades of steady work in education and corporate human resources, sustained civic involvement, and a retirement spent learning and volunteering rather than slowing down — tells the story of someone who built a genuinely independent, engaged life well beyond that early chapter, right up to age 99.
FAQs About Millie Williams
Who was Millie Williams?
She was an American teacher and Playboy Enterprises employee, best known publicly as Hugh Hefner’s first wife and the mother of Christie and David Hefner.
When did Millie Williams marry Hugh Hefner?
In 1949, four years before he founded Playboy magazine. They divorced in 1959.
What did Millie Williams do for work?
She began as a schoolteacher, later worked as a salesperson at Playboy’s Playtique retail store, and then spent decades in Playboy Enterprises’ human resources department.
Who are Millie Williams’s children?
Christie Hefner, former chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, and David Hefner, a computer systems analyst who kept a private life.
Did Millie Williams remarry after Hugh Hefner?
Yes, twice — first to Ed Gunn, and later to Pierre Rohrbach, with whom she shared a long marriage until his death.
When did Millie Williams die?
She died on December 13, 2025, in her Chicago apartment, at age 99.
What did Millie Williams do after retiring?
She completed the University of Chicago’s Great Books program, volunteered as a reading tutor, and remained active in golf, bridge, bowling, and travel.
Did Millie Williams stay connected to Playboy’s history?
Yes, in a quiet, behind-the-scenes way — she worked at the company for years in retail and human resources, separate from her earlier marriage to its founder.
