Biography
Kelly Marie Monaco was born on May 23, 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up in a traditional Italian Catholic household, the third of five sisters. The Monacos relocated from the big city to the rural Pocono Mountain 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 high school years. She then attended Northampton Community College, where she majored in mass communications for two years, and worked as a lifeguard at the Mount Airy Lodge. With dreams of becoming an actress, she planned her escape from the Poconos.
kelly monaco poses nude
In 1996, Monaco sent nude photos of herself to Play..boy 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 the magazine's Miss 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.
kelly monaco in baywatch
The same year she made her debut in Play..boy, Monaco relocated to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of making it as an actress. She quickly landed a recurring role on Baywatch, where she played rookie lifeguard Susan. With a dozen episodes of the popular syndicated program under her belt, she made the leap onto the silver screen in 1998, appearing in an uncredited role as Sharon, the pole-dancing cheerleader in the comedy BASEketball.
Monaco landed her first credited film roles in 1999, when she appeared as Tiffany in Idle Hands, Marisa in Mumford, and a centerfold named Elaina in Late Last Night, a made-for-television movie.
In 2000, she appeared as herself in Welcome to Hollywood and in an episode of TV's The Man Show called "Play..boy Mansion." In 2001, Monaco debuted on the daytime drama Port Charles, where she played Olivia "Livvie" Locke over the next few years. Monaco later played Tess Ramsey on the same series during the 2002-2003 season.
kelly wins dancing with the stars
Port Charles went off the air in October 2003, the very same month Monaco began portraying Samantha McCall, mob boss Sonny Corinthos' mistress, on ABC's long-running soap General Hospital. Following in the tradition of her Port Charles role switch, she began portraying Alicia Montenegro on General Hospital in 2005.
Monaco and dance partner Alec Mazo made their debut on Dancing with the Stars in the summer of 2005. While they initially fared the poorest among all the contestants, they came on strong after the first month and went on to win the overall competition.
Thanks to the huge success of Dancing with the Stars as a surprise summer hit, Kelly put on her sexy dance outfits for Dancing with the Stars: Dance-Off, which aired in September of 2005, but she lost out to John O'Hurley of Seinfeld fame. Kelly is also enjoying her status as a magazine model, on the cover of Maxim's September 2005 issue, as well as in Play..boy's November 2005 issue -- the magazine is reissuing Monaco's pictorial from her April 1997 appearance.
Temporary return to modeling
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.
Acting
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 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.
