Jo Penney

If The Question remains in anyone's mind as to whether or not a woman must sacrifice her femininity to be successful in business, we hope this pictorial answers it once and for all. Meet Jo Penney, president of Jo Penney Inc. Model & Talent Agency in Toronto. At 33, Jo is nearly an institution in the Canadian modeling business, though she founded Jo Penney Inc. only three years ago. She now manages 40 female models (30 adult and ten "juniors," aged 16 to 19), ten male models and 30 hard-working actors and actresses. Jo Penney models are regulars on the covers of Canadian women's magazines--the. counterparts of our Cosmopolitan and Mademoiselle. But to bring the beauty of Jo's models closer to home, remember Sylvie Garant, our November 1979 Playmate from Quebec? Ahhhh, yes. We discovered her through Jo Penney. And, in the process, we discovered Jo herself. Although she's a former model, she hadn't been in front of the camera since 1975. Bu even as we discussed business with her (and she can be all business, if you know what we mean), we couldn't help wondering if she'd consider posing for Playboy herself. Finally, we popped the question. "I thought you'd never ask," she replied. It's nice to get a Penney for your thoughts. (We couldn't resist.)