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Nikki Nova is a former internationally published model, Playboy TV host, and B-movie actress. While she remains involved in entertainment, she has shifted her focus to becoming a media figure due to her additional careers in integrative medicine and writing. In the integrative (holistic) medicine field, Nichole (Nikki) currently works as a Clinical Herbalist, Hypnotherapist, Aligned Essence teacher (Reiki-based), Death Doula, and is also a psychedelics advocate and facilitator.
Nikki is a published writer, having contributed to multiple magazines under various pen names since 2006.
Nichole "Nikki" was born in Hampton, Virginia. She graduated from Phoebus High School, where she was also Homecoming Queen during her senior year.
At 18, she moved to Los Angeles despite having never visited or knowing anyone there. She sold her car to cover airfare and her first month’s rent, then moved in with three strangers. She says that move remains one of the best decisions she has ever made.
Nikki has always been connected to the arts. In her senior year of high school, she was even given her own art class. One of her early jobs in LA involved creating artwork on snowboards for a snowboarding company near Big Bear, CA.
Initially, she attended design school after moving west but could not continue due to tuition costs. Around that time, and in the following years, she was frequently approached by modeling scouts. Having modeled previously in high school—traveling to NYC between ages 15 and 17—she was comfortable in front of the camera.
At 22, she was approached at a nightclub by a Parisian photographer who shot her for several French entertainment and fashion magazines, as well as the debut issue of a new American magazine. She was soon discovered by renowned erotic photographer Suze Randall, and her career quickly took off. Nikki became one of the top erotic models of her time, appearing repeatedly in major men’s magazines throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and starring in several B movies and videos.
During the 2000s, Nikki co-hosted Playboy TV’s Night Calls 411 and appeared as a guest and guest host on other Playboy TV shows before that. She also performed in a live comedy show called The Red Light Comedy District, which toured various California Improv comedy clubs around the same time.
Just before 2006, Nikki suffered a near-fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a horse accident on a job set. She was thrown from the horse, landing headfirst on rocks, and the horse then fell on top of her. Her skull was fractured and she sustained multiple brain hematomas. Paramedics initially believed she might not survive the hospital transport. She was airlifted to a trauma center, medically induced into a coma to control bleeding, and was not expected to live. Miraculously, she survived but faced years of recovery and was left with some permanent disabilities and health issues from the TBI.
Following the accident, Nikki stepped away from the entertainment industry for a time. During her early recovery, she was temporarily and seriously mentally impaired and became vulnerable to exploitation, including by one particularly unscrupulous individual. This experience, along with a serious stalker situation and ensuing stress, led her to become very private and limit her public accessibility. These challenges pushed her to pursue a new or additional path.
The stalking escalated to the point where the FBI became involved. Investigations revealed the stalker was an obsessed fan who had learned of her accident through news reports. Nikki came to understand that “when you’re known, you have no right to privacy.”
The FBI discovered that her stalker was mentally unstable but also highly educated in criminology and legal loopholes, as well as a skilled hacker. These factors enabled him to avoid capture for years. This situation lasted over 12 years, forcing Nikki into hiding and seclusion.
Fortunately, Nikki emerged from this dark chapter alive, though it was not the first major hardship she faced. In her early childhood, her father was killed while working undercover on assignment. A former law enforcement officer, he was working for the government at the time of his death. Nikki learned of his shooting through the news, having had no contact with him for nearly three years while he was undercover.
In her early to mid-20s, Nikki was briefly married to Pasquale Zaza, eldest son of the late Michele Zaza, a former member of the Camorra Sicilian mafia and head of the Zaza family clan. Due to difficulties arising from that marriage, she was forced to flee California and spent several years on the run from Pasquale. During that time, she met the love of her life in Kentucky, who helped her safely escape her previous situation. She moved to Kentucky, and they became engaged. After his untimely death in 2001, she relocated to Arizona, where she still resides as of 2024. Nikki has never remarried.
Following the horse accident and while in hiding from her stalker, Nikki returned to school to study integrative and holistic medicine—a field she had been interested in since she was 14. Her passion for this area became a central part of her healing process—physical, emotional, and energetic. Her period of seclusion turned into a time of deep healing from her accident and all previous life challenges. She credits this path with saving her life. Nikki now regards her past struggles as blessings that have fostered personal growth and expanded her knowledge and compassion. She dedicates her life to her integrative and holistic work, focusing on helping others.
Her journey continues...
