An Interview with Coco Knight

Karyn Locke’s exclusive interview with Kitten, Coco Knight!!

Coco has been a Kitten here at PlaySims since 1995. Since then, she has been a driving force in the PlaySims family. Her passion and love of the business gives her a beauty and class that is unique. It wasn’t until 2003, nearly eight years of being with the company, that she was awarded Kitten of the Year. Read to find out more about losing the crown year after year, and some other interesting topics!

PS: Coco, I would just like to say congratulations on your Kitten of the Year 2003 win. It’s definitely been a long time coming. Is there a hint of “bittersweetness?”

CK: (chuckles) Thank you, Karyn. Um…I guess you can say that. I think I proved myself time and time again, and in my honest opinion, I think I should have won the title earlier.

PS: Most people would agree with you on that one. Do you think your open rivalry with Valentine Vanderbilt had something to do with it?

CK: It could have. I don’t know really. I’ve heard a lot of those theories as to why it took so long for me to win. I don’t care about that though, I won. I accomplished what I always wanted to accomplish, and it feels great!

PS: You were Valentine’s Maid of Honor at her wedding this year. What was that like?

CK: Wonderful! I was truly honored. V has two sisters and she asked me of all people!

PS: And the rivalry?

{coco and valentine in a shoot from 1996}

CK: Dead. Completely. We are like sisters again. The past is the past.

PS: Great to hear. I mean, it was touch and go for awhile there.

CK: (laughing) You certainly are NOT kidding! After my wedding in 2002, the healing process began, and we forgave and forgot.

PS: Your wedding, let’s talk about that. It was semi-controversial in many respects. You married Jake Knight. The brother of your boss! Many an eyebrow was raised at this.

CK: (laughing) Yea…Coco Gotham’s quest for power! It was all garbage. Every rumor, every piece of gossip…it meant nothing. They were all lies. I got married because I fell in love, it didn’t matter what his name was.

PS: How did that come about?

CK: There was a party at the Mansion in 2000. Some party for one of the spreads we did. Maxine had just brought Jake on board to do editing and public relations. We met and it was like love at first sight. Honestly, I had no idea who he was when we first met. It wasn’t until the next day when Smokey [Ryder] said to me, “Do you have any idea who that guy WAS?” I had no clue. But I didn’t care.

{coco and husband jake, 2004}

PS: And what about your courtship? Any jealousy?

CK: Jake and I dated for 2 years. We were exclusive. He knew who I was and what I did for a living, and he never seemed to mind. A few times he’s gotten a little jealous, but he knows I love him and only him, and that I’m just a really good actress.

PS: Being an actress…that was your first love. It’s what you pursued before you made your way to PlaySims. What happened?

CK: Big lights, big city. I was seduced with the idea of being a movie star. I left my family in 1993, like most of us PS girls do, and trekked out here. I was 17, penniless, and alone. I got an agent, Donnie Simson, and told him I was 21. He told me I would be a bigger star than Demi Moore. We began a relationship, and while he helped me out a lot, he was definitely not good for me. He was an agent for the pornography industry, and I was not interested in making porno movies. Donnie told me that I would never get work unless I changed my name, therefore Constance “Connie” Goshim no longer exists! He was the one who named me Coco Gotham and handled all the paperwork to make it legal. I loved Donnie. He was good to me. Even though he lied about everything, I enjoyed living the lie. Donnie knew I didn’t want to do porno movies, so he sent my head shots to his friend Bernie Rice. Bernie was the manager of Sami Blackstone at the time, and he passed my stuff to Maxine. She called. I accepted. And it was a done deal.

PS: What ever became of Donnie?

CK: Long story. We were together on and off. I dated other men [including Derrick Mooregood] and he saw other girls, but we would always hook up back together. Eventually we just drifted and lost touch. In 2000, before I met Jake, Donnie was killed in a drive-by shooting.

{coco and donnie simson, c.1994}

PS: I’m very sorry to hear that. You have encountered much pain, starting with your family life.

CK: I’m what they call a “change of life baby.” My parents married when they were in their early 20s, and had my 2 sisters and brother right away. They didn’t plan on any more children. When they were 45, along came little Connie. I was a happy surprise. But by then, my sisters were 24 and 23, and my brother was 20. I have nieces and nephews older than me! When I was 6, my oldest sister, Cathy Tysens, was 30. She was having her last 2 children…twins! There were complications, and my sister and one of the babies passed away. This devastated my parents. My mother became depressed and eventually committed suicide. My father suffered a stroke a few years later and has been in a home ever since.

PS: How has this affected you?

CK: It makes me stronger. I know I’m a survivor. My sister, my mother, my father, Donnie, Summer, Snowflake…all these little tragedies make me determined to be the best person I can be, and eventually, one day, the best mom.

PS: You mention Snowflake. Snowflake Tysens was a Kitten here at PlaySims in 2001 and 2002. Right after you were married, she was in a fatal car accident. What were the implications of that on you?

CK: (sighs) That was hard. (takes a deep breath) That was really hard. Snowflake, and yes, that was her real name, was my niece. Snowflake was Cathy’s daughter. I became very close to her over the years. She admired my work with PlaySims, and I helped her get the position here in 2001. It was “hush-hush” that we were related because Maxine feared she would be penalized for nepotism. When Snow died, I thought I would lose it. I buried her next to her sister, Summer.

{snowflake tysens in a playsims shoot, 2001}

{at snowflake's funeral, 2002. "valentine was really there for me through the whole ordeal."}

PS: But there is a rainbow at the end of the storm, right? I mean, you’re talking babies here!

CK: (laughs) Yea, yea…eventually. V and I are in a secret race to see who’s gonna get pregnant first. She says me, I say her. Our husbands just seem to roll their eyes.

PS: How do you feel about PlaySims’s “new direction?” Any thoughts about some of the new girls?

CK: I think the new direction is a definite plus. It’s leaving many doors open for creativity. We girls seem to have more of a say, and I think that translates well in the photographs…if I’m doing something I’m comfortable with, it will show in the final product. As for the new girls, they are great and we all seem to get along very well. Maxine has moved everyone into the refurbished Mansion so we have more of a homey atmosphere. Brittany and Reese and Tessa are lovely ladies. While they still have some to learn, I know they will do very well here.

PS: Feeling comfortable…that seems to be important to you. A lot of your pictures show you masterbating. Why do you opt to do that?

CK: I love pleasuring myself. There’s nothing like it! And like you said…I love doing what I feel comfortable doing. If Brittany wants to do pee shots, fine. If Chloe does horse shots, fine. Those things aren’t ME.

PS: What is YOU than?

CK: Freedom. Expression. Class. Self-gratification. Indulgence. Pretty things. Spirit. Life. Perseverance. Dignity. Sexuality. Love.

PS: Thank you so much for your time, Coco. It was great talking to you!

CK: The pleasure was mine!