"This is really a nice surprise," Vandeven said. "I hoped that I would be the Pet of the Year, but there were so many beautiful women in the voting that I knew it was equally possible for one of them to win."

Vandeven performs for Ninn Worx under the name Heather Vuur.

Penthouse CEO Marc H. Bell said he was looking forward to Vandeven's reign as Pet of the Year.

"The Penthouse Pet of the Year has numerous duties to perform, such as personal appearances and promotional radio and television events," he said. "So we must take every aspect of her personality into consideration. There are other factors in the choice of Pet of the Year, beyond her popularity and beauty. Heather fits all of those qualities extremely well."

Vandeven beat out 11 other hopefuls in an online contest, including Shay Laren, Charlie Laine and Bella Starr. Vandeven was the Pet of the Month for January 2006.

Vandeven succeeds 2006 Pet of the Year Jamie Lynn.