• Link Party: Angelina Jolie Gets Salty

  EOnline.com - Found Nov. 17, 2009 Lutz','Kellie Martin','Kellie Pickler','Kelly Clarkson','Kelly Hu','Kelly Lynch','Kelly Monaco','Kelly Osbourne','Kelly Preston','Kelly Ripa...

• Taylor Lautner Wears a Shirt on Men's Health Cover?What's Wrong ...

  EOnline.com - Found Nov. 10, 2009 Lutz','Kellie Martin','Kellie Pickler','Kelly Clarkson','Kelly Hu','Kelly Lynch','Kelly Monaco','Kelly Osbourne','Kelly Preston','Kelly Ripa...

• Kelly Monaco is Still Alive

  Celebrity Gossip by Derek Hail - Found Sep. 21, 2009 Oh, act like you don?t care (or enjoy) the paparazzi attention, Kelly Monaco, but I know you love it.

• Reality bites: Couple divorces after bitter soapie row

  Daily Telegraph Australia - Found Nov. 19, 2009 Actors Ingo Rademacher & Kelly Monaco in scene from US soap TV show General Hospital.

• Rob Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and New Moon Cast Talk Vampire ...

  EOnline.com - Found Nov. 17, 2009 Kellie Martin','Kellie Pickler','Kelly Clarkson','Kelly Hu','Kelly Lynch','Kelly Monaco','Kelly Osbourne','Kelly Preston','Kelly Ripa...

• Stellar marks for Blades' final spin

  Winnipeg Free Press - Found Nov. 17, 2009 (Clearly, they had been made aware of the controversy that followed the judges' unpopular pick of Kelly Monaco over John O'Hurley in the first...

• Speakaboos Releases Children's Storybook Classics Read by the Cast ...

  Globe Investor - Found Nov. 2, 2009 Featuring stories read by Kelly Monaco, Rebecca Herbst, Jason Thompson, and Greg Vaughan, Speakaboos continues to provide a dynamic and... Speakaboos Releases Children's Storybook Classics Read by the Cast ... - Forbes.com Speakaboos Releases Children's Storybook Classics Read by the Cast ... - Interest!ALERT Explore All

• 'CSI' actors join judges for Miss California

  The Desert Sun - Found Nov. 5, 2009 ... and Kelly Monaco, who plays Sam McCall on General Hospital.Bevy of judges Other judges will be Randall Slavin, a celebrity photographer;

• Speakaboos Announces Partnership With soapcentral.com

  Reuters - Found Nov. 4, 2009 ... read by Greg Vaughan -- The Frog Prince read by Kelly Monaco and Jason Thompson -- The Little Mermaid read by Kelly Monaco and Jason Thompson... Speakaboos Announces Partnership With soapcentral.com - Houston Chronicle Speakaboos Announces Partnership With soapcentral.com - Breitbart.com Speakaboos Announces Partnership With soapcentral.com - Earthtimes.org Explore All

• Thriller of a Jackson Tribute, Then Another Celeb Bites Dancing With ...

  E! Online - Found Oct. 20, 2009 I'm sorry." Partner Alec Mazo, who guided Kelly Monaco to the winner's circle in season one, told Natalie how very proud he was of her. No Gold for Natalie Coughlin on 'Dancing' - ABC News 11 Olympic Medals, No Disco Ball Trophy - ABC News 'Dancing With the Stars' recap: A 'Thriller' of a night - Entertainment Weekly Online Dancing's Disappointing Departure - People Explore All

Kelly Marie Monaco (born May 23, 1976) is an American model, actress, reality television contestant and winner of Dancing with the Stars in Season 1. Since 2003, she has played the character of Sam McCall on General Hospital.

Modeling

In April 1997, Monaco 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.

Monaco made numerous cover appearances in other magazines such as FHM and Maxim. Along with her Maxim feature in 2005,² the magazine also awarded her 13th place on their annual Hot 100 List in May 2006.³

Acting

Monaco's 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. In 2006, Monaco also co-hosted the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmys, with Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron.

In March 2009, Monaco was chosen by Donald Trump and Paula Shugart to be one of the judges for the 2009 Miss USA pageant.

Dancing

Monaco and partner Alec Mazo on Season 1 of the American edition of Dancing With The Stars.

Monaco was a cast member, and the season winner, on the ABC reality television series Dancing with the Stars, during its first season in 2005. Among the events that she experienced prior to her victory were a disappointing first episode in which she received unvarnished criticism from judge Bruno Tonioli, and a near-wardrobe malfunction in which the skimpy strap on her dress during a Latin dance number came apart.⁴

In February 2009, Monaco expanded her dancing résumé with Peepshow, a burlesque act directed by Tony Award-winning director Jerry Mitchell that plays at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Monaco starred as Bo Peep, a precocious character who discovers her sexuality throughout the show.⁵ Monaco starred alongside British pop diva and fellow Dancing with the Stars contestant Mel B, aka Scary Spice. Both Monaco and Mel B left the show in late June 2009.

Monaco is also good friends with General Hospital co-star Kimberly McCullough and has recently taken up Bhangra dancing lessons with her. Bhangra is a traditional Indian dance.⁶

Personal life

Monaco is a fan of extreme sports, and participated in the all-women's Hi-Tec Racing Series, which consisted of 12 miles of off-road running, 3 – 4 miles of kayaking and 12 – 15 miles of mountain biking, interspersed with a Marine-style obstacle course. Monaco's team came in second.⁴

On April 25, 2009, Monaco's apartment at the Planet Hollywood Hotel was ransacked by burglars. It is unclear what was taken⁷. On Sept. 8, 2009, Merrill Wetter was sentenced to 12 to 30 months in jail after pleading guilty with no contest after being caught by surveillance tape. Wetter is to pay Monaco a reported $5,000 restitution, a $25 dollar court fee as well as $150 DNA Fee.⁸ Wetter had broken into Monaco’s penthouse while Monaco was in the bedroom and had hidden behind the bed at the time of robbery in April 2009.

Humanitarian work

Monaco and several other daytime celebrities such as Susan Lucci and Anthony Geary traveled to Kenya, Africa as a part of the Feed the Children program on July 13, 2009. Monaco, along with Geary, Lucci and the other stars, documented their journey with their own video cameras as they aided the Feed the Children founders Larry and Frances Jones in delivering food and items to the needy and accompanying them on visits to local schools, as well as an abandoned baby center built by Feed the Children. Monaco was recently on the streets of Kibera, playing with some young orphaned boys and teaching them how to say "hello" in English. Monaco and the other stars will be staying in Africa for 10 days with the Feed the Children organization.

Part of the footage will be shown during the 36th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards, as part of a segment titled "Daytime Gives Back." The documentary is intended to give the American public with an up-close and personal look at Kenya and its wonderful people and to raise awareness of the desperate situation faced by Africa’s poor.⁹

On October 24, 2009, Monaco took part in another volunteer day of service, the iParticipate campaign. She along with several other of her General Hospital co-stars, such as Lisa Lo Cicero, Kimberly McCullough, Leslie Charleson and more all volunteered to help beautify a local school in Los Angeles.¹⁰

TV work

• Baywatch (1997-1998)
• Late Last Night (1999)
• Port Charles (1999-2003)
• The Man Show (2000)
• Hard Copy (2000)
• Spin City (2001)
• General Hospital (October 1, 2003-present) as Sam McCall
• Dancing with the Stars (2005) as Herself
• Punk'd (2005)
• Miss USA Pageant (2009)

Filmography

• BASEketball (1998)
• Idle Hands (1999)
• Mumford (1999)

Notes

External links

• Kelly Monaco at the Internet Movie Database
• Kelly Monaco at Playboy.com