Barbi Benton - Former Girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, Birthday and Childhood
Barbi Benton's Personal Details
Barbi Benton is an American model actress and singer, best known for being a longtime former girlfriend of 'Playboy' founder, Hugh Hefner
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | January 28, 1950 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous | University Of California, Los Angeles, Fashion, Models, Actresses, Country Singers, Former Girlfriend of Hugh Hefner |
| City/State | California, New Yorkers |
| Spouses | George Gradow (m. 1979) |
| Childrens | Alexander Benton Gradow, Ariana Gradow |
| Universities |
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| Notable Alumnis |
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| Birth Place | New York City, New York, United States |
| Height | 160 |
| Gender | Female |
| Sun Sign | Aquarius |
| Born in | New York City, New York, United States |
| Famous as | Former Girlfriend of Hugh Hefner |
Barbi Benton's photo
Who is Barbi Benton?
Barbi Benton is an American model, actress, television personality and singer, best known for being a longtime former girlfriend of 'Playboy' founder Hugh Hefner. She has appeared on 'Playboy' covers four times and spreads twice. As a television star, she co-hosted 'Playboy after Dark' alongside Hefner and was a regular on the comedy series 'Hee Haw' for four seasons, in which she was a featured singer. Her solo singing career began with the release of the album 'Barbi Doll' from Playboy Records, which was later followed by 'Barbi Benton', 'Something New', 'Ain't That Just the Way' and 'Kinetic Voyage'. She is also an actress who has worked in films, such as 'Hospital Massacre' or 'X-Ray', and 'Deathstalker'. She has appeared on many television shows, including 'Sugar Time!', 'Fantasy Island', 'The Love Boat', and most recently the reality show 'The Girls Next Door'; was a panelist on 'The Hollywood Squares' and 'The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'; and has been a guest on 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'.
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Childhood & Early Life
Barbi Benton was born as Barbara Lynn Klein into a Jewish family on January 28, 1950 in New York City. Her father was a military doctor, but after the family moved to Sacramento, California, he practiced as a gynecologist there, while her mother worked as an investment counselor.
She attended Rio Americano High School and took all kinds of lessons – from scuba diving to piano – and even did some "tearoom modeling" while in school. She enrolled into UCLA to become a veterinarian, but had to give up that career option as she could not stand the sight of blood.
Career
During her college days, Barbi Benton had signed up with a commercial agency to be "the new face in town", and started to appear on television commercials. She landed a role on the TV series 'Playboy after Dark' at the age of 18, and appeared as the co-host and companion to the show's director of entertainment, Hugh Hefner.
She soon began a relationship with Hefner and was responsible for discovering the Playboy Mansion West where Hefner still resides. Over the next few years, she was featured in multiple photoshoots for the Playboy magazine, but never became a 'Playmate of the Month'.
Her first appearance on the cover of the Playboy magazine was as Barbi Klein in July 1969, which was followed by three more cover shoots in March 1970, May 1972, and December 1985. She also did two additional nude photo layouts in December 1973 and January 1975.
She made her screen debut in the 1970 West German comedy film 'Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht' ('How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business?', also known as 'The Naughty Cheerleader'. She changed her name to Barbara Benton as the producers wanted a more American-sounding name.
In 1972, she bagged a spot on the television series 'Hee Haw', which featured comedy sketches and one-liners interspersed with country music. She performed as a regular on the country variety series for four seasons before dropping out of the series in 1976 to pursue opportunities in Hollywood productions.
She appeared as Miss Iowa on the satirical comedy-drama TV film 'The Great American Beauty Contest' in 1973. The same year, she also appeared in another telefilm, 'The Third Girl from the Left', which was produced by Hefner.
Throughout the decade, she appeared on television shows like 'Marcus Welby, M.D.' in 1972, 'McCloud' in 1975, 'The Hollywood Squares' in 1978, and had a role in the 1980 TV-movie 'For the Love of It'.
She had multiple appearances on the talk-show 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson' in 1974-80, the TV show 'Sugar Time!' in 1977-78, the TV series 'Fantasy Island' in 1978-82 and 'The Love Boat' in 1978-87.
She debuted as a country singer in 1975 with the album 'Barbi Doll', released from Playboy Records, which peaked at 17 on the US Country charts. Her single 'Brass Buckles' became a top-five hit on Billboard's Country Singles chart.
She released three more country albums from Playboy Records – 'Barbi Benton' (1975), 'Something New' (1976) and 'Ain't That Just the Way' (1978) – with the single 'Ain't That Just the Way' becoming a hit in Sweden. In 1988, she released the pop album 'Kinetic Voyage' from Takoma Records.
She was a guest panelist on 'The Hollywood Squares' from 1978 to 1980, and later returned as a panelist in the hybrid show 'The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour' in 1983. On television, she appeared on 'Doug Henning's World of Magic V', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Tattletales', 'Circus of the Stars', 'Matt Houston', 'Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer', 'Murder, She Wrote’, and 'Riptide'.
Her later film credits included the 1982 slasher film 'Hospital Massacre', also known as 'X-Ray', and the 1983 fantasy adventure film 'Deathstalker', both of which had her in lead roles. She partially left the entertainment industry in 1986, but has appeared as herself in numerous documentaries about Hugh Hefner, and about 'Playboy' in general.
Between 2005 and 2009, she has appeared on the TV series 'The Girls Next Door' as Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend. Notable recent documentaries she has been featured on include 'Playboy: Inside the Playboy Mansion', 'Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration', 'When Playboy Ruled the World' and 'America's Book of Secrets'.
Major Works
Barbi Benton is best known for her close involvement with the Playboy Enterprises and for appearing on 'Playboy' covers and spreads multiple times. She is also well-remembered for being a regular cast member on the comedy series 'Hee Haw' for four seasons.
Awards & Achievements
CMT aired a series of reruns of Barbi Benton's show 'Hee Haw' during the 2006–07 season, for which she received the 'TV Land Award' in 2007 along with fellow cast members. Her single 'Brass Buckles' became a top-five hit on Billboard's Country Singles chart, while the single 'Ain't That Just the Way' remained a number one hit in Sweden for 5 weeks.
Personal Life & Legacy
During the shooting of 'Playboy after Dark', Barbi Benton was approached by multi-millionaire Hugh Hefner, the founder and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, for a date. When Barbi, then 19, told him that she never dated anyone over 24 before, the then-42-year-old playboy responded with "neither have I".
The two soon began dating and were together for the next seven years, till they finally parted ways in 1976. Hefner, who was already married, did not want to marry again, but regretted that decision later, stating that it resulted in their separation. However, they still remained friends.
She married real estate developer George Gradow on October 14, 1979. The couple has a son named Alexander Gradow and a daughter named Ariana Gradow. She splits her time between their homes in Aspen and Los Angeles, and has been working as an interior decorator since 2002.
Trivia
In 1973, George Gradow was asked by former employee Liz Prince when he was getting married, to which he reportedly said that once he finds someone like Barbi Benton. Coincidentally, Prince knew Barbi’s mother and arranged a meeting between the two, which in time led to their marriage.
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Barbi Benton biography timelines
- // 28th Jan 1950Barbi Benton was born as Barbara Lynn Klein into a Jewish family on January 28, 1950 in New York City. Her father was a military doctor, but after the family moved to Sacramento, California, he practiced as a gynecologist there, while her mother worked as an investment counselor.
- // 1969Her first appearance on the cover of the Playboy magazine was as Barbi Klein in July 1969, which was followed by three more cover shoots in March 1970, May 1972, and December 1985. She also did two additional nude photo layouts in December 1973 and January 1975.
- // 1970She made her screen debut in the 1970 West German comedy film 'Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht' ('How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business?', also known as 'The Naughty Cheerleader'. She changed her name to Barbara Benton as the producers wanted a more American-sounding name.
- // 1972 To 1976In 1972, she bagged a spot on the television series 'Hee Haw', which featured comedy sketches and one-liners interspersed with country music. She performed as a regular on the country variety series for four seasons before dropping out of the series in 1976 to pursue opportunities in Hollywood productions.
- // 1972Throughout the decade, she appeared on television shows like 'Marcus Welby, M.D.' in 1972, 'McCloud' in 1975, 'The Hollywood Squares' in 1978, and had a role in the 1980 TV-movie 'For the Love of It'.
- // 1973She appeared as Miss Iowa on the satirical comedy-drama TV film 'The Great American Beauty Contest' in 1973. The same year, she also appeared in another telefilm, 'The Third Girl from the Left', which was produced by Hefner.
- // 1973In 1973, George Gradow was asked by former employee Liz Prince when he was getting married, to which he reportedly said that once he finds someone like Barbi Benton. Coincidentally, Prince knew Barbi’s mother and arranged a meeting between the two, which in time led to their marriage.
- // 1974She had multiple appearances on the talk-show 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson' in 1974-80, the TV show 'Sugar Time!' in 1977-78, the TV series 'Fantasy Island' in 1978-82 and 'The Love Boat' in 1978-87.
- // 1975She debuted as a country singer in 1975 with the album 'Barbi Doll', released from Playboy Records, which peaked at 17 on the US Country charts. Her single 'Brass Buckles' became a top-five hit on Billboard's Country Singles chart.
- // 1976The two soon began dating and were together for the next seven years, till they finally parted ways in 1976. Hefner, who was already married, did not want to marry again, but regretted that decision later, stating that it resulted in their separation. However, they still remained friends.
- // 1978She was a guest panelist on 'The Hollywood Squares' from 1978 to 1980, and later returned as a panelist in the hybrid show 'The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour' in 1983. On television, she appeared on 'Doug Henning's World of Magic V', 'Charlie's Angels', 'Tattletales', 'Circus of the Stars', 'Matt Houston', 'Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer', 'Murder, She Wrote’, and 'Riptide'.
- // 14th Oct 1979 To 2002She married real estate developer George Gradow on October 14, 1979. The couple has a son named Alexander Gradow and a daughter named Ariana Gradow. She splits her time between their homes in Aspen and Los Angeles, and has been working as an interior decorator since 2002.
- // 1982Her later film credits included the 1982 slasher film 'Hospital Massacre', also known as 'X-Ray', and the 1983 fantasy adventure film 'Deathstalker', both of which had her in lead roles. She partially left the entertainment industry in 1986, but has appeared as herself in numerous documentaries about Hugh Hefner, and about 'Playboy' in general.
- // 2005 To 2009Between 2005 and 2009, she has appeared on the TV series 'The Girls Next Door' as Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend. Notable recent documentaries she has been featured on include 'Playboy: Inside the Playboy Mansion', 'Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration', 'When Playboy Ruled the World' and 'America's Book of Secrets'.
- // 2006 To 2007CMT aired a series of reruns of Barbi Benton's show 'Hee Haw' during the 2006–07 season, for which she received the 'TV Land Award' in 2007 along with fellow cast members. Her single 'Brass Buckles' became a top-five hit on Billboard's Country Singles chart, while the single 'Ain't That Just the Way' remained a number one hit in Sweden for 5 weeks.
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Barbi Benton's FAQ
What is Barbi Benton birthday?
Barbi Benton was born at 1950-01-28
Where is Barbi Benton's birth place?
Barbi Benton was born in New York City, New York, United States
What is Barbi Benton nationalities?
Barbi Benton's nationalities is American
Who is Barbi Benton spouses?
Barbi Benton's spouses is George Gradow (m. 1979)
Who is Barbi Benton childrens?
Barbi Benton's childrens is Alexander Benton Gradow, Ariana Gradow
What was Barbi Benton universities?
Barbi Benton studied at University Of California, Los Angeles
What was Barbi Benton notable alumnis?
Barbi Benton's notable alumnis is University Of California, Los Angeles
How tall is Barbi Benton?
Barbi Benton's height is 160
What is Barbi Benton's sun sign?
Barbi Benton is Aquarius
How famous is Barbi Benton?
Barbi Benton is famouse as Former Girlfriend of Hugh Hefner