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She worked many different jobs from a student graphic designer, to an interior designer, from a Bollywood actress to a television star, but the busty Ketayoon (Katy) Mirza is best remembered for being selected as a Playboy Bunny in the early 1970s. Spotted by the roving scouts of Playboy magazine when she was working at the Hilton Hotel in London, the magazine’s head honcho Hugh Hefner auditioned the gutsy Mirza "And a Playboy Bunny was born, posing for the centerspreads frequently reserved for winners of beauty pageants and top-of-the-line models,” wrote Khalid Mohamed in MumbaiMirror of March 24, 2017 after  she succumbed to cancer in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 67-year-old voluptuous actress from the retro era had acted in the Amitabh Bachchan-Rakhee starrer Kasme Vaade, the politically controversial Kissa Kursi Ka, the Vinod Khanna-Reena Roy crime drama Jail Yatra, besides other A and B listed movies. Not content with being hired purely for the titillation quotient, she chose to return to London where she acted in episodes of the TV series The Garland and The Magician of Samarkand.
"Katy rarely talked about her film career or her Playboy days. Occasionally when a celebrity of yesteryear would pop into the headlines, Katy would softly comment that she had known him or her,” recalled Dorab Mistry, former president of the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE). "What struck us most was how she managed her life as a middle aged Parsi lady who had left the high life behind and displayed wonderful Zoroastrian human qualities.” Dorab and his wife Shenaz "cherished Katy as a friend and as a strong supporter of all our community initiatives at ZTFE. Katy could be impatient and at times demanding, but she had a heart of gold and usually helped us out. She had a small but loyal circle of friends. Her famous good looks and her vivacious nature endeared her to all those who talked to her… She was always very proud of her mobed family heritage and cared deeply about our religion and our values… I recall Katy insisting with son Feroz to attend our religious education classes.”
"Katy attended the annual muktad ceremonies at the Zoroastrian Centre,” stated current ZTFE president Malcolm Deboo, adding, "The last time we were in contact was last year when Katy booked the Zoroastrian Centre to perform the after death prayers for her brother Nadir.” She has two other brothers Keki and Rustom Mirza residing in the US.
"Although a firm believer in Zoroastrianism she was very well cultured in all religions and traditions. She always taught me to keep an open mind and take positives from all religions…keeping our community values at heart,” wrote Feroz in a tribute to his mother penned for Parsiana.
"My mother Ketayoon was a very kind and loving person. She was very warm towards everyone she knew and very easy to talk to about almost anything. Growing up, I was never without affection from my mother. There was always a kiss on a bruised knee or a hug, just because. She had a very bubbly personality which was contagious to all those around her. She had a very typical Parsi humor and always enjoyed spending time with other like-minded Parsis.”
Reminiscing of the holidays they spent together Feroz noted, "She would always try and teach me about different things we came across and why it is good to be knowledgeable and well- traveled. She would say to me ‘If you are well traveled, son, your home will never be one place.’ It is only today that I understand the meaning of those words…”
Alluding to his mother’s "illustrious career and fulfilling life,” Feroz mentioned that she was "a very independent person…(having lost) both her parents at the age of 17. She will always be my inner inspiration and her creativity and diversity will live on through me.”