Former porn star who was raised in ultra-strict CHRISTIAN home achieves her 'dream' of covering PLAYBOY magazine - as she bares all for racy shoot: 'I feel very proud'

A woman who was raised in an ultra-strict conservative Christian community has achieved her lifelong dream of covering Playboy magazine.

Sapphire Howell, 27, who previously worked as a porn star under the name Elsa Jean, has graced the cover of Playboy Mexico's April edition.

'Appearing on the cover of Playboy was always my dream. I feel very proud to have a brand and an image that allowed me to be there,' she gushed in a statement.

The blonde bombshell previously appeared inside the Winter 2020 issue of Playboy U.S. and is a member of The Playboy Club, which is the brand's answer to OnlyFans.

She still creates X-rated content on OnlyFans, but officially said goodbye to the mainstream porn industry in 2021 after catching a disease while shooting a group sex scene with four different men.

'I felt that my health was at risk,' she told the Holly Randall Unfiltered podcast.

'I worked for a company and they lied to me about the testing and I ended up getting a treatable STD, but it still traumatized me so much that I was lied to,' she added. 

For her Playboy cover shoot, Sapphire left little to the imagination in lacy white lingerie.

Her low-cut bra could barely contain her cleavage as she posed provocatively for the pictorial. 

Sapphire was raised among the conservative Christian community in North Canton, Ohio, before moving to New York and finding fame in the adult industry - under the name Elsa Jean.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com last August, the former porn star explained how her childhood struggles gave her the 'drive' to find fame and amass her current fortune.

Reflecting on her 'pretty strict' upbringing, Sapphire explained: 'I grew up Mennonite and that's a pretty strict Christian religion... It was pretty religious, but my mom also is the one person in the family that was open. So I got the cool mom that was like, "Do whatever you want."

'I did see all my other family members really stick with [the religion]. And that just, for my family, was not going to happen.' 

Sapphire then added: 'If I was like most people in a very trapped religious environment, it would have been a lot harder for me to change my views.'

The blonde beauty began modelling for Playboy as Elsa Jean in 2018 and soon became a favorite as she was named Playboy Muse of the Month in July 2019 and Playboy All Star of the Month in January 2022.

Prior to landing Playboy, she had been working as a stripper in Washington, D.C., when she made the move into adult films in 2015, aged 18.

Following years of creating X-rated videos, the star was one of many to find further success by sharing content on OnlyFans - an online service that allows users to charge fans for a subscription to their site, where they often release provocative content.

In November 2022, she officially retired from the porn industry and continued to focus on making her money through OnlyFans and by minting NFTs (non-fungible tokens) - which saw her sell over $30,000 worth in just one month.  

'My mom has struggled with a mental illness, and we just grew up in poverty so I got a job at 15. My drive has always been there to survive and to provide for my family and that's really helped me through my career,' she explained. 

'I want people to know that I didn't just do it because I felt like doing it. I did do it as survival.'

Despite their difficulties, Sapphire revealed she has remained close to her mother and sisters, who have been supportive throughout her provocative career.

'I don't really talk to anybody else,' she admitted. 

'They love me for me. Anything that I do, they find exciting. I come from a small town where nothing really exciting happens so they're very supportive.'