Bridget graduated from San Joaquin Delta College with an Associate Degree. She matriculated to California State University, Sacramento and graduated in 1998 with a B.A. in communications and an emphasis on public relations. In 2001, she earned her Master's Degree in Communications from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She later took a graduate level course in broadcast journalism through UCLA Extension, which was shown on the first season of The Girls Next Door (most notably when she had to walk out of her first Playboyshoot to attend her final exam).
On the advice of friends who suggested she pose for Playboy magazine, Bridget sent a letter to Playboy inquiring how to become a Playmate, before enrolling at San Joaquin Delta College. In 1998 at the age of 25, Bridget entered Playboy's Millennium Playmate search. In 2001, Bridget moved to Los Angeles and did local modeling jobs and small acting roles. After unsuccessfully testing twice for Playboy, she was invited to the Playboy Mansion and soon became a regular there. In October 2002, after more than a year of visiting the Mansion, she was invited to move in and become one of Hef's girlfriends.
Bridget is featured on the E! TV show The Girls Next Door, and has appeared with Holly and Kendra in three cover pictorials in Playboy magazine, the November 2005, September 2006 and March 2008 issues. She has appeared in several films, including the horror/comedy Kottentail in which she portrays a scientist doing genetic research on rabbits. She appeared in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as herself along with Holly and Hef in 2005. She also appeared as herself along with Holly, Kendra, and Hef in the Entourage episode "Aquamansion". The episode's final act took place at the Playboy Mansion. She also starred in The House Bunny with her fellow models and Hefner alongside Anna Faris
Bridget appeared in a 2002 episode of The Man Show in a search to find new juggies.
Marquardt appears as one of Hugh Hefner's playmates in the video game Playboy: The Mansion, which was released in January 2005. Bridget appeared in an episode of Celebrity Paranormal Project which aired on November 19, 2006. She took an online paranormal course because of her interest in paranormal activity.
On June 1, 2007, Bridget started her Bridget & Wednesday Friday Show on Sirius Radio's Playboy station. In August of that year, she, Holly and Kendra appeared in the music video for Nickelback song "Rockstar." Later that October, Bridget appeared as a contestant on the Fox Reality cable show The Search for the Next Elvira. She was one of the final six out of 20 contestants.
In 2008, Bridget appeared on an episode of NBC's Last Comic Standing along with Kendra and Holly in an episode in which the girls were told funny "bedtime stories" by the competing comics. In June of that year, Bridget landed her own TV series, Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, which aired on the Travel Channel. Marquardt and the rest of the Girls Next Door appeared in a July 1, 2008 episode of NBC’s Celebrity Family Feud.
February 2009 marked Bridget's final appearance in Playboy, in a nude photo spread shot with Holly and Kendra that was touted as a farewell to the Girls Next Door. After leaving Playboy Bridget hosted Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, a TV series on Travel Channel, which debuted March 12, 2009, and ended after one season.
In April 2010, Bridget announced plans for her own reality show. The pilot will shoot in April and will cover her life after the Playboy Mansion, and her current relationship.
