Barbi Benton

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.

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.

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.

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.