Maxine from Family Matters wants to do playboy

according to tmz

Admit it, you've always wanted to see Laura Winslow NAKED -- well, now you might be able to see the person who played her best friend Maxine on "Family Matters!!!"

Johnson -- who's 35-years-old now -- tells us, "I have been threatening my family that I was going to do 'Playboy' since I was 18 years old."

TMZ has obtained a photo of Cherie Johnson -- who also played Punky Brewster's BFF back in the '80s -- taken during a nude-ish photo shoot on a So Cal beach last week ... and she's hoping the pics will score her a spread in Playboy.

Cherie adds, "When my mom said 'Okay' ... and my grandma said, 'Bring me a autographed copy,' I figured I'd make it a goal."