Hooters Calendar Blog

Meet Ashleigh Athena of Hooters Chantilly

2026-11-03T00:00:00Z

Ashleigh grew up in Haymarket, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, and has spent five years at Hooters of Chantilly. She has shot the Official Hooters Calendar in four different states, runs an online boutique on the side, and will happily tell you about Italy in Italian despite never having been.

We caught up with Ashleigh to talk sisterhood, spicy garlic, and what really goes into the "effortless" shot.

Catch Ashleigh at Hooters of Chantilly, follow her at @ashleighathooters, and find her in the 2027 Official Hooters Calendar. Four editions, four states, and counting.

Victoria Ruiz: Hall of Fame Hooters Calendar Legend

2026-10-25T00:00:00Z

Victoria Ruiz took a job at Hooters of Pembroke Pines in 2010 to pay for nursing school and stayed eight years. Along the way she made four straight Hooters Calendars, landed the cover of the 2016 playing cards, froze in a bikini in Aspen for us, and raised money for kids' hospitals on calendar tours across the country. In 2019 Hooters put her in the Hall of Fame. Today she produces luxury events around the world, holds a black belt in Kung Fu, and was back at her home store yesterday. We caught up with Victoria for the first in our Legends series.

Follow Victoria at @model_victoria_, find her in the 2014 through 2017 editions of the Official Hooters Calendar, and if you're at Hooters of Pembroke Pines, look for the Hall of Famer ordering naked lemon pepper wings.

Meet Paulina Patruno of Hooters Weston

2026-10-14T00:00:00Z

Paulina is a Weston, Florida native who never left: she grew up there, works at Hooters of Weston, and has now made three straight editions of the Official Hooters Calendar, 2025, 2026, and the brand-new 2027. When she's not on shift she's building out a third-grade classroom, sewing her own clothes, and ordering a marshmallow dunkalatte.

We caught up with Paulina to talk sisterhood, sunrise call times, and the one shoot-day moment that meant the most.

Catch Paulina at Hooters of Weston, follow her at @paulinapatruno, and find her in the 2025, 2026, and 2027 editions of the Official Hooters Calendar. Three for three, and counting.

Meet Gracie Williams of Beach Place Hooters

2026-09-03T00:00:00Z

Gracie grew up in Weston, Florida, and has spent six years as a Hooters Girl at Beach Place on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Five straight editions of the Official Hooters Calendar later, she's Miss July 2026, and one of the calendar's own makeup artists, working both sides of the lens.

We caught up with Gracie to talk wings done exactly right, a sunrise in Bimini, and the little sister she gained along the way.

Catch Gracie at Beach Place Hooters on Fort Lauderdale Beach, follow her at @graciewilliams7, and find her in the 2022 through 2026 editions of the Official Hooters Calendar, holding down July in the 40th anniversary edition.

Sophia Zullo: 2027 Hooters Calendar Cover Girl

2026-08-28T00:00:00Z

Sophia is Cincinnati through and through: grew up there, works at Hooters of Mason, and has now landed in four straight editions of the Official Hooters Calendar: Miss March 2024, Miss May 2025, the back cover of the 2026 edition, and the front cover of the 2027 edition. She grew up the only girl in a house with three brothers, can still throw a flip from her cheerleading days, and sells houses when she's not slinging wings. We caught up with Sophia to talk sisterhood, shoots, and the mindset that got her here.

Catch Sophia at Hooters of Mason, follow her at @sophzullo, and find her in the 2024 through 2027 editions of the Official Hooters Calendar. She held down the back cover of the 40th anniversary edition, and when we asked about 2027 she said she was hopeful. She got the front cover.

Meet Kiana Mahabir of Hooters of Odessa

2026-08-24T00:00:00Z

Kiana is Odessa through and through: grew up there, works at Hooters of Odessa, and has now landed in five straight editions of the Official Hooters Calendar, including the cover of the 2025 edition and the January to June side of the 2027 bonus poster. She has shot underwater, been bitten by a shark, and can quote Mr. and Mrs. Smith start to finish. We caught up with Kiana to talk wings, shoots, and the advice she'd give the next girl up.

Catch Kiana at Hooters of Odessa, follow her at @kiana_mahabir_, and find her in the 2023 through 2027 editions of the Official Hooters Calendar, front and center on the 2025 cover and on the 2027 pull-out poster.

Meet Emily Hagedorn of Hooters of Fort Myers

2026-08-21T00:00:00Z

Emily moved to Florida without knowing a soul. Three years later she's a Hooters of Fort Myers regular, a three-time Official Hooters Calendar Girl, the face of the July to December side of the 2027 bonus poster, and the proud owner of a passport stamp from Bimini. We sat down with Emily to talk wing sauce, calendar shoots, and the song that gets her hyped before every shift.

Catch Emily at Hooters of Fort Myers, follow her at @_emilyhagedorn, and find her in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 editions of the Official Hooters Calendar, plus the 2027 pull-out poster.

Publisher Update: 2027 Calendar in Production

2026-07-28T00:00:00Z

The wait is on! We’re excited to share that the 2027 Hooters Calendar is officially in production, and our team has been hard at work bringing together another unforgettable edition.

Models, Heat & Cannonballs | Arizona Day 1

Where things stand

Right now, we’re in one of the most exciting stages of the process. Thousands of incredible images were captured during this year’s photo shoots, and we’re carefully reviewing every one to determine which photos will earn a spot in the final calendar. It’s never an easy decision, but selecting the perfect combination of images is what helps make each year’s calendar unique.

Once the final photos are selected, our design team puts everything together into the finished calendar layout. Every page is carefully crafted to showcase the Hooters Girls and create a calendar fans will enjoy all year long.

After the design is finalized, the production files are sent to our longtime printing partner in Minnesota. There, each calendar is professionally printed, individually bagged, and prepared for distribution to Hooters restaurants and retail locations across the country.

On schedule for October 1

Everything remains on schedule for the October 1, 2026 release of the 2027 Hooters Calendar. We know many fans look forward to picking up the new calendar every year, and we’re just as excited to see it come off the press.

We’ll continue to post updates here as production moves forward. Until then, thank you for your continued support, and get ready for another great year of the Hooters Calendar!

Stay tuned. October will be here before you know it!

Get Ready to Flip to July

2026-06-30T00:00:00Z

This month

Sun’s out

The July page. Wide-open desert light and that late-afternoon glow.

If your calendar is still on June, it’s time to fix that. July is the page summer was made for. Sunshine, salt water, fireworks, and plenty of red, white, and blue. Go ahead and make it official.

This month’s shot was built for the heat. Wide-open desert light, that golden late-afternoon glow, and the easy summer energy the whole month runs on. It’s a page that earns its spot on the wall.

That’s the fun of a calendar: every flip is a small reset. New photo, new month, fresh start. July just happens to be one people leave up a little longer than the rest, and honestly, we get it.

Some pages you flip right past. July you let ride a while.

It lands on the long weekend, too. Cookouts, the lake, a road trip, friends in the backyard until the fireworks start. However you spend the Fourth, it’s a good excuse to slow down and enjoy the middle of summer.

Show us your July

Snap a photo of your July page and tag us on Instagram. The best fan flips get featured. And if you don’t have one on the wall yet, there’s still plenty of year left to make it count. Then go enjoy the weekend. The calendar will be right here when you get back, ready for whatever August brings.

Why It’s the Gift That Overdelivers

2026-06-29T00:00:00Z

In stores & online

The gift that gives all year

Big, well shot, printed on good stock. The kind of thing collectors keep.

Finding a gift someone actually likes is harder than it should be. The Hooters Calendar makes it easy. It’s been around for four decades, fans look forward to it every year, and it still gets a real reaction when someone opens it. Not the polite kind, the actual kind.

Fifteen months, not twelve

There’s more to it than you’d think, too. You don’t get twelve months, you get fifteen. Every edition comes with a three-month head start, October through December, so it’s useful the day they open it instead of sitting in a drawer until January. The photography is the real draw, though. Big, well shot, printed on good stock. The kind of thing collectors hang onto year after year.

It does some good, too

A dollar from every calendar goes to breast cancer research through our Give A Hoot campaign. So it’s a gift that’s fun to give and actually means something. Pretty easy call.

What Every Calendar Puts Into the Fight

2026-06-29T00:00:00Z

Give A Hoot

For Kelly Jo

Give A Hoot runs every October, and the calendar is one of the biggest pieces of it.

The calendar has always been about more than the photos. Every October, for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hooters runs a campaign called Give A Hoot to raise money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. It runs across the whole company: pink drinks on the menu, guests rounding up their checks, endowment cards on the wall. And the calendar is one of the biggest pieces of it. A dollar from every one sold goes straight to the cause.

Why it’s personal

It’s personal for us. The campaign honors Kelly Jo Dowd, one of the original Hooters Girls and our 1995 cover model. She fought breast cancer for years, and instead of going quiet she spent that time as an advocate, pushing early detection and education for the women around her, before passing in 2007. The fund named in her honor, part of the Hooters Community Endowment Fund, keeps that work going.

She called them her sisters, and the campaign still works to reach every one of them.

That mission carries to the hundreds of thousands of current and former Hooters Girls who came after her. The money also ends up where it counts. Most of what we raise goes to the V Foundation for Cancer Research, founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano. Because their endowment covers operating costs, 100% of every direct donation goes to research and programs, from early detection to personalized treatment. Over the years, the Hooters family has raised millions for the cause. So when you flip a page, you’re part of that.

Ways to help

Pick up a Hooters Calendar. A dollar from every one goes to the cause.
Round up your check next time you’re in. Every bit adds up.
Give directly at hooters.com/give.

The 2027 Hooters Calendar Is Now in Production

2026-06-29T00:00:00Z

Behind the scenes

The road show begins

It’s official: the 2027 calendar is in production. We’re back on the road doing what we’ve done for years now: chasing good light, scouting locations, and getting the kind of all-American shots this calendar has been known for since the ’80s.

A straight 35mm frame off the set. No screen to check, so you get it right in camera.

Shot on film

A lot of this year’s work is being shot on film. It’s slower and there’s no screen to check, but that’s the point. It forces everyone to slow down and get the frame right in camera, and it gives the photos that warm, timeless look you can’t fake in post. The shot here is a straight 35mm frame off the set.

The part most people never see

This is the part most people never see. The casting, the early mornings, the travel between locations, the crew sweating the small stuff so the finished pages look easy. They’re not, but that’s the job, and we still love doing it after all this time. Every year the goal is simple: make this one better than the last.

Want a first look? We’ll be posting behind-the-scenes from the shoots right here as the season goes on. Check the behind-the-scenes gallery now and then, keep an eye out, and watch the 2027 edition come together frame by frame.