"From the time that I can remember, I worked to make money - either baby-sitting, or one year wrapping gifts at a department store at Christmas, so I could have my own money"
About this Quote
The key phrase is “so I could have my own money.” Not “help my family,” not “save for college,” but ownership. The intent reads as self-authentication: a preemptive rebuttal to any assumption that her later authority (and, inevitably, her famous last name) is inherited rather than earned. “From the time that I can remember” also smuggles in inevitability. This isn’t a conversion story about discovering ambition; it’s presented as native instinct, a temperament.
Context sharpens it. Christie Hefner built a high-profile corporate career in a company whose brand traded heavily on women’s bodies while selling mainstream respectability. Framing her origin in mundane, respectable wage work helps launder the controversy into a familiar American narrative: independence, hustle, merit. The subtext isn’t just “I worked.” It’s “I belong here, and I paid my way into the right to decide.”
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Hefner, Christie. (2026, January 17). From the time that I can remember, I worked to make money - either baby-sitting, or one year wrapping gifts at a department store at Christmas, so I could have my own money. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/from-the-time-that-i-can-remember-i-worked-to-66063/
Chicago Style
Hefner, Christie. "From the time that I can remember, I worked to make money - either baby-sitting, or one year wrapping gifts at a department store at Christmas, so I could have my own money." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/from-the-time-that-i-can-remember-i-worked-to-66063/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"From the time that I can remember, I worked to make money - either baby-sitting, or one year wrapping gifts at a department store at Christmas, so I could have my own money." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/from-the-time-that-i-can-remember-i-worked-to-66063/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.


