Kelly Monaco

Kelly Marie Monaco (born May 23, 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American model, actress, and reality television contestant.

Kelly grew up in a traditional Italian American Catholic household, the third of five sisters. The Monacos relocated from Philadelphia to the rural Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania before Kelly became a teenager. Although initially unhappy about the move, she eventually learned to love her peaceful surroundings.

Monaco excelled at sports, including soccer, swimming, tennis, track, and softball, as well as speech, debate and drama during her years at Pocono Mountain High School in Swiftwater, where she graduated in 1994. She then attended Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she majored in mass communications for two years, and worked as a lifeguard at the Mount Airy Lodge in Mount Pocono. With dreams of becoming an actress, she planned her escape from the Poconos.

In 1996, Monaco sent nude photos of herself to Playboy magazine and was contacted one month later by the men's publication. With her family's approval, she traveled to Chicago for a photo shoot. She became Playboy's Playmate of the Month in April 1997, and was also featured in several of its newsstand specials. The work allowed her the opportunity to travel to many exotic locales, including Fiji, Honduras, and throughout South America.

Her first television role was on the nightime drama Baywatch from 1997 to 1998. She also had minor roles in the late 1990s films BASEketball, Idle Hands, and Mumford.

Monaco had two roles on the supernatural television soap opera Port Charles: Olivia “Livvie” Locke Morley (1999–2003) and Tess Ramsey (2002–2003). When that program ended, she joined the cast of soap opera General Hospital as possible con woman Samantha “Sam” McCall in September 2003.

In 2003 Monaco was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her Port Charles work.

In summer 2005, Monaco appeared as a contestant in the highly-rated American version of the television series Dancing With The Stars. Despite her perceived lack of height and an initial lack of grace, she improved each week and became a popular underdog. In the quarterfinal round samba, she coolly recovered from a mid-dance wardrobe malfunction without becoming exposed on live national television. On July 6, 2005, Kelly Monaco won the Dancing With The Stars competition.

This was viewed by some as an upset, whereas others suspected ballot-box stuffing, a frequent complaint of Internet-based voting. This was discussed briefly on a Larry King Live interview with several members of the show, but was not pursued by runner-up John O'Hurley, who took the high road and declared that participation and viewer popularity was more important to him than winning. However, it was decided to have a "Dance-Off" special as a follow up to this controversial result, with a presumably lessened chance of Internet voting skewing the results. It was held "live" on September 20 and results were announced two days later. This time, O'Hurley and his dance partner Charlotte emerged as the winners. From appearances, it is fair to say that Monaco was as happy about losing this match as O'Hurley was about losing the regular competition.

The win on Dancing With the Stars boosted her visibility level considerably and resulted in a number of appearances on talk shows as well as possible new job offers, but she stated that she intends to remain with General Hospital.

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Kelly Monaco as Sam McCall on General Hospital

Biography for Kelly Monaco Birth name Kelly Marie Monaco

Height 5' 1" (1.60 m)

Kelly Monaco is the third of five sisters raised in a traditional Italian Catholic home. Growing up as a rebellious tomboy, Kelly decided early on to be an individual. "My whole life, I've been told to shut up and listen because I was overly obnoxious and disrespected authority," she admits. "If you told me not to do something, I'd do it. If you like something, then I'll not like it."

Shortly before her teenage years, Kelly's family decided to move from the urban environment of Philadelphia to the more serene surroundings of Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. She remarks, "Philly was hard-core. I was in fistfights every day after school. I was such a city girl, such a little tomboy. I did not deal with the move very well," Kelly admits. "I didn't know how I was going to get out or when I was going to get out, but I knew I was getting out." She notes, "At first, it was brutal on me. I was definitely a city girl. Now I thank the Lord my parents got us out of the city. It was the best thing they could have done," Kelly declares. "I had the best of both worlds, but I think living in the city street life, you're taught at a very young age to keep your guard up, watch your purse, know who you're trusting," she says, explaining why it still takes awhile for people to get past her "walls" and discover the wickedly funny woman underneath.

Kelly says with her, you never know what you're going to get. "I take things moment by moment. My mood can change on a dime depending on who's around me, how much is going on, if the stars are aligned..." Kelly says, "People don't know I'm very daring. You don't have to ask me twice. Success comes with bold and creative moves." She confesses, "I was always wild, crazy, obnoxious. I would try anything once." Kelly advises, "The straight paved road won't always get you farther than the winding dirt road." The ambitious, determined beauty believes one should, "always try 110 percent."

Growing up in the Poconos, Kelly developed a love of the great outdoors. With a home on the boundary of a state game preserve, Kelly and her four sisters spent plenty of time hiking, climbing trees, fishing, camping and swimming. They were taught to skate by their mother, a former Olympic hopeful and figure-skating instructor. They helped their father, an avid hunter, build tree stands. Kelly says, "I've actually never hunted with a rifle, I have gone out with my dad and watched him hunt. We have built tree stands and deer feeders. I still skate whenever I have the opportunity to get on the ice with my mom."

An active athlete, Kelly participated in soccer, swimming, track, and softball, among other sports. "Growing up, I wasn't into dresses and make-up;it was more about the sports," reveals Kelly. "That's where my competitiveness came from. I have always been an athlete. I was on so many teams, starting when I was eight. I was on soccer and tennis teams in Philadelphia. I was on the track team in high school because I wasn't comfortable with distance running. Personally, my boobs were too big and it hurt! I always had problems with that, I developed very young." Kelly tried field hockey in junior high, but it wasn't her game. "There was something about the coordination with the stick and the running and the skirt - it just wasn't for me."

In addition to athletics, Kelly participated intensely in speech, debate, and theater during high school. "I liked the conflict of interest, and I always look deeper than what the surface is." Kelly proudly states that she is a born competitor.

Kelly attended classes at Northampton Community College because "that's what you had to do." Kelly says, "I studied mass communications for two years. I'd love to go back and get my degree."

Kelly worked at a resort, Mount Airy Lodge, as a lifeguard. "One night, I had to make three saves," she says. "There's this adrenaline rush that I can't explain." One of her rescues was a boy who had lost consciousness. Kelly acknowledges, "It's an amazing feeling to know that if you hadn't been there, this person may have died." Looking back on that night, when she had to perform CPR in order to save a life, Kelly recalls, "It was the most horrific and emotional thing. My adrenaline was pumping! But yes, I saved somebody's life. It's amazing every time I think about it."

Kelly had made the adjustment to her new surroundings and to the inconvenience of having the nearest store "15 miles away". Plus she says that, even more than her siblings, she came to love country life. Still, Kelly knew that if she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, she would have to leave. "It wasn't reality to be an actress coming from the Poconos," she divulges. "Very few people choose to leave. Everyone stays there because they stay in the same realm of living and thinking. The idea of leaving was terrifying, but it was the only way."

Kelly's way out of the Poconos turned out to be a spread in Playboy magazine, a decision that her family was "extremely supportive" of. After perusing a copy of Playboy, Kelly called a friend the next day to come to her house and take pictures of her. In order to get Playboy's attention, she says, "my sister talked me into posing on my front lawn in the middle of a snowstorm in the woods. We giggled all the way to the one-hour photo." Kelly recounts, "I went to the hour Photomat, got them developed, and sent them to the magazine." Kelly adds, "I wrote a little letter. 'I don't know who you are or what I'm doing, but direct these [to the right person]. My name is Kelly Monaco. I'm from the Poconos, I'm in college, and I'm a lifeguard.'"

A month later, Kelly received a phone call to come shoot for Playboy. "I was, like, 'No way!'" she recalls. Although she had never modeled before in her life - let alone bared it all for the camera - Kelly had no qualms about posing in the buff. "I think at that age, I was, like, 19, I had finally started getting comfortable with my body. I knew I had a great body, so I wasn't self-conscious." How did Kelly break the news of her upcoming Playboy shoot to her parents? "See ya!" she says, flashing a big smile. "I don't keep any secrets. I told them from the get-go. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have their approval. They thought, 'To each his own. If that's what you want to do, go do it 150 percent. Don't do it half-assed.'"

So Kelly headed to Chicago, and did the photo shoot. "I was scared to death!", she admits. "But the night before I tested for Playboy, I had all my sisters and my mom in the living room and I bared it all to prepare myself for it. I figured that if I could do it in front of them, I could do it front of anybody!" Shortly before her 21st birthday, Kelly made her Playboy debut as the magazine's Miss April 1997, and she went on to be featured in many of their Newsstand Specials. "I got to travel all over the world for different photo shoots and publicity stuff. I've been to Fiji, Honduras, all over South America, all over this country," she raves. "It was a great learning experience." To this day, Kelly remains one of Playboy's most popular, most beloved Playmates, with many on-line fan clubs and websites devoted to her. Kelly enjoys being the center of attention. "I've always wanted to be a star. Growing up, I wanted to be an actress." Her independent spirit prompted Kelly to move to Los Angeles on her own to pursue an acting career. "It wasn't hard because I was following my dream. I'm a free spirit, so it was OK because I knew I was going to conquer something. L.A. is a town of its own. It will eat you alive or you can work and use it to your advantage," notes Kelly. "The majority of people who leave California give up. If you want it bad enough, you'll get it. You have to follow your heart, stay determined and never give up." Kelly states, "I had some really difficult times. Just because I was a Playmate, a recognizable name - and this is something that a lot of people don't understand - didn't mean that I didn't struggle. At times, I couldn't eat dinner. I was showering at the gym. I was going to press events at night with Rosie O'Donnell, Jim Carrey and some of the biggest A-list celebrities in town, then leaving there in a gown and sleeping in my car."

With four years of high school drama classes and five years of lifeguarding behind her, Kelly's television debut came in 1997, when she landed the recurring role of Susan, a rookie lifeguard, on the syndicated program "Baywatch." After 12 episodes of "Baywatch", Kelly appeared in several feature films: "BASEketball", "Idle Hands", "Late Last Night", "Mumford", and "Welcome to Hollywood".

Since the summer of 2000, Kelly has portrayed the character of Olivia "Livvie" Locke on ABC's "Port Charles". Kelly reveals, "I had auditioned for General Hospital and Port Charles for two years straight before booking the part of Livvie." Kelly says that upon reading for the role she immediately knew "this [was] the one. I really felt this girl. I had a connection with her." Of course, that doesn't mean Kelly and Livvie are exactly alike. The actress notes, "We're very, very different in many ways, but I would say that we both have struggled and we're both survivors."

Kelly remarks, "The best part of my job is getting up every morning and loving what I do. Most of the time, I can't wait to get there." Kelly is glad that her character doesn't always look before she leaps. "I'd rather Livvie have all her flaws and all her greatness. I wouldn't change a thing about her." Kelly muses, "Some are intimidated by my confidence. It would surprise them to also know how vulnerable I am." Even Kelly herself is sometimes taken aback by her own vulnerability, which she has seen more since playing Livvie. Kelly notes, "This character has brought out a lot of my vulnerability that I had been blocking. I am not as hard as I look or as I sometimes come off. There is an extremely sensitive person under all the bricks I've built up. It just takes a lot for me to trust and to fully open myself to others."

Kelly is very close with her family. She enjoyed an especially close relationship with her great-grandmother, Beatrice Mervine, who Kelly affectionately called "Ging Ging". Kelly said, "I keep above my door an iron cross that my great-grandmother gave me when I was younger, and a couple of rosaries that she gave as well." On Wednesday July 7th, 2004, Kelly's beloved great-grandmother passed away, three days before her 95th birthday. Kelly adored her great-grandmother and spoke lovingly of her "Ging" in several interviews throughout her career. Her great-grandmother is even quoted in the article accompanying Kelly's Playmate Of The Month pictorial in the April 1997 issue of Playboy. Clearly, Ms. Mervine was a remarkable woman who was a great inspiration to Kelly. No doubt her great-grandmother's influence helped Kelly to become the lovely lady she is today.

Of her four siblings, Kelly says, "My sisters are there to pick me up, put me down, and be my very best friends." Kelly recalls, "Every Mother's Day, we would go fishing with my mom, Carmina. We'd go crabbing and deep-sea fishing." Kelly adds, "My mom used to play the piano a lot, and I remember sitting by her, or just lying around in the grass together. My mom was like our best friend." Kelly reveals, "My mother was young when she had the five of us. She definitely kept the youthfulness in our friendships and relationships as mother and daughter." Kelly insists that her parents weren't very strict with her and her four sisters. She notes, "We were allowed to fantasize as kids, dream the undreamable...become whatever we wanted. There were no boundaries."

Does Kelly believe in Fate? "Yes. YES!!!! I think everything in life happens for a reason. Every person that you come in contact with is all there for a reason."

Kelly considers herself to be a good Catholic girl. She declares, "I have made all of my sacraments but marriage. Although I don't go to church every Sunday, I feel that God is at my bedside when I go to sleep, so that is where I do my praying." Does Kelly feel any conflict between being a Playmate and being a good Catholic girl? "No, I think being a good Catholic girl is believing in God and trusting in yourself and following your goals. I don't feel like I'm being condemned or criticized by the almighty. I feel right with my decision and choices and they are mine."

Kelly says she doesn't have regrets about having posed nude for Playboy. "My past is my past; PC is my present. I don't think I've made any mistakes. I'm moving on with my career." Regarding her impromptu decision to pose nude for the magazine, Kelly says matter-of-factly, "It was just the right time, the right place. It set up my life for what it was going to be. And I like that, because I like where I'm at right now." Although "Port Charles" aired its final episode on October 3rd, 2003, Kelly had already secured a role on ABC's "General Hospital", where she has portrayed Samantha "Sam" McCall since October 1st, 2003. That's right: Kelly began airing on GH two days before PC's last story arc, "The Gift" came to an end!

What makes Kelly angry? "I think ignorance makes me really angry. I make myself really angry sometimes because I am really stubborn and I don't know how to give up." What makes her laugh? "Really wonderful friends, good conversation, funny movies."

Kelly was invited to take part in the 6th annual Super Soap Weekend at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida the weekend of November 3rd & 4th, 2001. One reason Kelly was happy to attend was that several of her family members, including her parents, one of her sisters, and her nephew, joined her at the theme park. "When I was a kid, our parents took us to Disney World six years in a row!", Kelly recalls. "I used to be a real rollercoaster junkie when I was a kid - you name it, I was on it five times in a row!" she giggles. "But now I don't know if it's just that I'm getting older, or if it's my [damaged] ear drums that have messed up my equilibrium, but I get really nauseous on the rides." The weekend marked her nephew's first time at Disney World, and Kelly enjoyed revisiting her youth through his eyes.

Kelly enjoys volunteering for children's charity events, as well as working with elders. She is a little lady with a very big heart. Kelly recalls, "I took a trip to Mexico and went to the Island of Mujeres and there was a little girl on the corner, barefoot. The poverty level is so high there that she couldn't afford shoes. So I gave her my shoes. I wish that I could have given everyone shoes." Clearly, Kelly's beauty is more than skin deep.

Kelly spends her free time training for triathlons, and she is a member of the Playboy X-Treme Team, which participates in the nationwide Hi-Tec Adventure Race series. "It's a three-part triathlon: off-road running(5-8 miles), biking(10-15 miles), and kayaking(3 miles)," she explains, adding "and in between the events are 10 Marine-type obstacle courses like scaling 13-foot hurdles, rock climbing, or crawling on your belly through a mud pit. It's pretty intense!" Kelly reveals proudly, "The first race I did was at Castaic Lake and we came in second in the nation in the all-women's division." Kelly enjoys the many benefits of being physically fit. "I don't feel sexy when I'm frail - I like to feel healthy and in shape," she confides. "To be strong in spite of being tiny is definitely cool!"

Just as she did when she lived in the Poconos, Kelly still takes time out to go camping. "I like to go hibernate in the woods for a little bit every summer...roast marshmallows, make s'mores," she says. "I've only been to a few places in California so far - I don't make plans and schedule things, I just go." After spending all week in studio make-up and designer clothes, Kelly finds the idea of wearing a tank top, jeans, and some flip-flops appealing. In fact, Kelly is so fond of the casual lifestyle that she traded in her vintage Porshe for a new truck. "I rough it when I camp," she says, giggling. "I bring the tent, the firestarter, an extra bathing suit, a couple of blankets and I'm good to go!"

Although she is not adverse to a little dirt while engaging in outdoor activies, when it comes to her home, Kelly admits to being "an obsessive clean freak. Now that's a quirk," she howls. "I can't go to bed with the house remotely dirty or dusty, or if there's a dish in the sink. I mean, I bleach my walls probably once a week. I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing. I love to clean. When people just meet me, a lot of times they're really surprised at how genuinely down-to-earth I am."

Kelly's days are spent pursuing her acting passion. "I live to work, I don't work to live. I love what I do! I'm living my dream, and I want to take it for everything that I can, while I can."

Kelly recently purchased her first home, the beautiful and talented Kelly Monaco continues to live out her lifelong dream to succeed in "the land of make believe." Biography courtesy of TV.com Tv.com Did You Know?

Kelly was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for April 1997.

Kelly grew up in the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania.

Kelly is incredibly athletic and enjoys being outdoors.

Kelly and her dance partner Alec Mazo won the reality series "Dancing With the Stars" on ABC.

Kelly is 29 years old

Kelly is 5'1'" tall

Kelly is a vegetarian

Kelly has worked as a correspondent for MTV and for NBC's "Hard Copy"

Kelly appeared in the music videos for "Change(In The House Of Flies)" by the Deftones and "Crazy For This Girl" by Evan and Jaron. Kelly also appeared in the music video for boy band Take 5's "Shake It Off". She played one of the girls dancing at the night club

Kelly played Rizzo in "Grease" and Rabbit in "Winnie The Pooh" in theatre productions put on by the Pocono Performing Arts

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