When Deftones released their second album, Around the Fur, in 1997, the cover art gained a lot of attention. It’s a cool shot, using a unique angle and fisheye lens to capture a warped view of a woman seated on the edge of a jacuzzi. With time, the image cemented itself in music history.
At the time, there was speculation about who the woman was. A groupie? A girlfriend? Maybe a professional model? Was the image staged and purposeful? Questions came forth, with sporadic answers. But in a January 2026 piece from Jenkem, those questions were finally definitively answered. After 28 years, the publication tracked down the model and photographer who worked on the cover.
Lisa Hughes (album art icon) and Rick Kosick (photographer) spoke with Jenkem about their involvement with the Deftones album cover. According to their recollection, it all unfolded naturally during an evening of hanging out.
Kosick said that he was asked to accompany the band to Seattle. His objective was to “go there and have fun, hang out, shoot photos.” Meanwhile, Deftones were on the hunt for an album cover.
“They were kind of in their party phase stage of the band, and so we went back to their condo that they rented during the recording of this record, and there was this girl hanging out in the jacuzzi,” said Kosick. “And I just went up and took a couple … two photos. That’s it. Walked away.”
Iconic Deftones Album Art Came From a Random Hangout at the Band’s Rented Condo
The woman hanging out in the jacuzzi was Lisa Hughes, seated on the edge of the hot tub, wearing what looked to be her underwear as an impromptu bathing suit. With her wet skin reflecting harsh sunlight, it’s almost possible to feel the heat of a blistering summer day through the photo. Breasts out, bellybutton tattoo, and sunburned nose complete the ethereal image, but an intrusive pair of bare feet in the corner bring it all humbly back to Earth.
A few weeks after Rick Kosick sent the photos to Deftones’ record label, he was contacted by the art director. They singled out the image of Hughes as the one they wanted for the album cover.
“I was blown away. I was like, ‘This is so cool looking, I love it!’” Kosick recalled. “Of course, I’m going to say I love it. It’s my photo. But, looking back, I was just really excited because it felt right after all the mockups and everything.”
Meanwhile, Lisa Hughes clarified that she didn’t actually know her likeness was going to be used on the cover of a Deftones album. Furthermore, she set the record straight on whether or not she was a groupie.
“I found those articles, you know, about like [me allegedly] being a groupie and this and that,” she said. “I was like, maybe I should just start a little page just about myself, and so people know that I’m Lisa.”
Meet Lisa, Accidental 90s Icon
As for what she would write on her hypothetical About Me page, Lisa Hughes said it plain and simple. “I’m just this awesome chick from Auburn, and I like to have fun. And there’s no groupie action going on here. Just me having a kick-a** time, you know,” she explained. According to Hughes and Deftones frontman Chino Moreno during a late-2025 podcast appearance, she was just someone the band befriended while recording in Seattle.
Hughes admitted that the photo is “a pretty cool looking shot,” adding that it’s also “kind of risqué.” However, she still seemed stoked about it, but clarified that criticism of her appearance has never been welcome.
“And people have asked, ‘Oh, look, you got a pimple there,’” she said. “I’m like, ‘Who gives a s***?’ What does that really matter?’ I’m a human being. I’m not a model, and I could care less, really.”
Overall, Hughes seemed to hold the image in high regard, as many Deftones fans do as well. “That’s me,” she said. “It’s just cool looking. And if you look at the whole shot and the legs going into the hot tub, it just looks pretty awesome.”
Photo by Niels van Iperen/Getty Images
The post The Woman on This Iconic Deftones Album Cover Wasn’t a Groupie, She Was Just ‘Lisa’ appeared first on VICE.
