Kara Monaco

Have fun in the sun with Kara Monaco, our Miss June 2005 and Playmate of the Year 2006. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed and always smiling, she's a former dancer from Lakeland, Florida. "I used to work at Disney World," she says. "I was Cinderella, Snow White, Alice in Wonderlandyou name it." Kara got her start with Playboy in 2004 - she was bartending in Orlando when she won the America's Sexiest Bartender contest. "Guys would come into the bar and ask for my autograph," she says. "It was overwhelming." After a spread in Girls of Summer - not to mention the cover - Kara got Hugh Hefner's attention. He made her Playmate of the Month, and without further ado, Playmate of the Year. After a few episodes of The Girls Next Door, Kara had a taste for television - she's been on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Big Brother 14, had a small role on NBC's Passions and led a home fitness series, Envy. These days, Kara is living in Los Angeles. She's a successful model and actress, and when she's not working, she's an avid wakeboarder. "I've had a wonderful time as a Playmate," she says. "I'm honored to be a part of the Playboy family."