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Kelly Marie Monaco (born May 23,
1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American model, actress, and
reality television contestant.
Monaco was the third of five daughters. Monaco grew up with a love of
sports such as soccer, swimming, and track, and worked as a lifeguard for
several years while attending a community college until she broke into
modeling. As a young adult, Kelly moved to Los Angeles with dreams to
become an actress. Success was limited for several years. In 1999, she
landed her first major role on the soap opera "Port Charles". Kelly has
been nominated twice for an acting Emmy, and she currently plays the role
of Samantha McCall on the soap opera General Hospital.
In 1996, Monaco sent nude modeling photos of herself to Playboy and in
April 1997 she became the Playboy Playmate of the Month. Throughout her
tenure with Playboy in the 1990s, Monaco was also featured in many Playboy
Special Edition publications.
She was a booth babe for Eidos Interactive at the 1999 Electronic
Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California.
She was featured in the November 2005 issue of Playboy, however the
pictorial consisted of previously unpublished photos from her Miss April
1997 shoot.
After moving on from Playboy in the 1990s, Monaco has significantly
distanced herself from Playboy, possibly as a move to "clean up" her
image. More recently, Monaco has made numerous cover appearances in other
lad mags such as FHM and Maxim magazine. Along with her Maxim feature in
2005, the magazine also awarded her 13th place on their annual Hot 100
List in May 2006.
Kelly has been rumored to be single for several years because of her solo
appearances at public events. She says that for the past 15 years, she has
been dating her childhood sweetheart, Michael Gonzalez. On a recent
interview on The View, she stated that as a 31-year-old woman, she is in
no rush to get married; she feels as if she already is.
Her first television role was on the nighttime drama Baywatch from 1997 to
1998. In addition to playing the role of Susan on the show, Monaco also
was Carmen Electra's body double at times, as Electra could not swim.
Monaco 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 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 role on Port Charles. In 2006
Monaco was again nominated for a Daytime Emmy, this time for Outstanding
Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Sam McCall on General
Hospital.
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 were 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, 2005 and results were announced two days
later. This time, O'Hurley and his dance partner Charlotte emerged as the
winners.
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 new job offers, but she stated that she intends to remain with General
Hospital. |
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"General Hospital" ....
Samantha 'Sam' McCall / ... (245 episodes, 2003-2007)
- Episode #1.11367 (2007) TV Episode .... Samantha 'Sam' McCall
- Episode #1.11365 (2007) TV Episode .... Samantha 'Sam' McCall
- Episode #1.11364 (2007) TV Episode .... Samantha 'Sam' McCall
- Episode #1.11363 (2007) TV Episode .... Samantha 'Sam' McCall
- Episode #1.11362 (2007) TV Episode .... Samantha 'Sam' McCall
(240 more)
Football Wives (2007) (TV) .... Ruby Monroe
"Spin City" .... Nurse (1 episode, 2001)
- A Shot in the Dark: Part 1 (2001) TV Episode .... Nurse
Welcome to Hollywood (2000) .... Baywatch Woman Guard
"Port Charles" (1997) TV Series .... Olivia 'Livvie' Locke
(1999-2003) / ... (unknown episodes, 2002-2003)
... aka Port Charles: Desire (USA: twelfth season title)
... aka Port Charles: Fate (USA: second season title)
... aka Port Charles: Miracles Happen (USA: sixth season title)
... aka Port Charles: Naked Eyes (USA: tenth season title)
... aka Port Charles: Secrets (USA: seventh season title)
... aka Port Charles: Superstitions (USA: eighth season title)
... aka Port Charles: Surrender (USA: eleventh season title)
... aka Port Charles: Tainted Love (USA: fourth season title)
... aka Port Charles: Tempted (USA: fifth season title)
... aka Port Charles: The Gift (USA: last season title)
... aka Port Charles: Time in a Bottle (USA: third season title)
... aka Port Charles: Torn (USA: ninth season title)
Mumford (1999) .... Marisa, the Landlady's Daughter
Late Last Night (1999) (TV) .... Centerfold Elaina
Idle Hands (1999) .... Tiffany
BASEketball (1998) (uncredited) .... Pole-Dancing Cheerleader Sharon
"Baywatch" .... Girl flying Kite / ... (3 episodes, 1997-1998)
... aka Baywatch Hawaii (USA: new title)
- Diabolique (1998) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Girl flying Kite
- Quarantine (1998) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Model at
Photoshooting
- The Choice (1997) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Rookie Lifeguard
Susan |
