In 1976, Bozzio traveled to Playboy Mansion West in Los Angeles at the request of Hugh Hefner, to interview for a position as a Valentine party hostess. The opportunity provided for both a continuing relationship with Playboy and for living arrangements in Los Angeles, from which she could pursue an acting career. But Bozzio rejected Hefner's offer and thus failed to secure living arrangements. However, shortly thereafter, she chanced upon musician and composer Frank Zappa, whom she had met previously at one of his concerts in Boston. That encounter led to her employment with Zappa.