Kara Monaco, Playmate of the Year

Nearly half a century has passed since Ellen Stratton, Miss December 1959, became our first Playmate of the Year in 1960. The Mississippi stunner was a legal secretary with curves, to steal Hemingway's line, like the hull of a racing yacht. In the decades since, there have been 46 PMOYs, iconic beauties like Donna Michelle (1964), Shannon Tweed (1982), Anna Nicole Smith (1993) and Jenny McCarthy (1994). In all that time, there has never been a Miss June PMOY—until now.

"I figured out the absence of Miss Junes on my own," says Kara Monaco, the 2006 Playmate of the Year. "Hef gave me a book for Christmas that lists every Playmate and her month, with a star by the PMOYs. I looked through the whole book, and there were no Miss Junes. When my issue came out last year, I would chat on Playboy.com's Cyber Club, and people would post messages saying, 'Oh, June is just a throwaway month.' I couldn't believe how many readers knew about it. So it feels great to break the curse!"

Indeed, Miss June has arrived. Kara has been nothing but magic for our readers since she first appeared in our August 2004 Women Behind Barspictorial featuring America's sexiest cocktail concocters. Readers were spellbound by the sun-bronzed blonde with the platinum tresses and let us know as much. The letters poured in. Turns out, Kara was the one shaken and stirred. Moved by the response to her nudes in Playboy, she said good-bye to her barmaid days and left her hometown, Orlando, for the City of Angels to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.

"I had an acting coach before I moved to Los Angeles and have done a couple of fun projects already," Kara says. "I played a woman at a spa who is held hostage with a bunch of other patrons on CSI: Miami. I also did a cool pilot with Playmates Serria Tawan and Shallan Meiers for a show about NFL cheerleaders produced by a former Raiderette."

Kara became accustomed to the spotlight at an early age. She worked at Disney World in costume as Snow White and Cinderella, danced in Disney parades and competed in gymnastics and dance before her first modeling gigs. Later she became a workout queen and the featured instructor on two Envy series workout videos made by the same company that put out Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease. But none of that compares to the spotlight she's enjoying now. Life as PMOY suits this petite 23-year-old, and she's the first to say so.

On a recent afternoon, Kara reclined at Playboy's photo studio in Santa Monica in a pair of tight jeans, an even tighter T-shirt and a pair of heels. When we ask how she feels about the publicity, her emerald eyes twinkle. "I love it," she says. "Sometimes guys come up to me and say, 'You look like this woman I saw in Playboy.' People don't think it's really me! I want people to drink I am approachable. If diey send me letters or want me to sign anything, I always respond as long as they are respectful. It feels amazing that I have fans who voted for me."

So far, Kara has found plenty of confidantes among die beauties of Playboy. "I have some friends in California who I knew before I moved, but a lot of my friends are Playmates," she says. "Right now I live at the Playmate House down the street from the Mansion with Julian Grace, who was Miss March 2005. Tiffany Fallon, the 2005 PMOY, stayed with us awhile too. We all get along really well." As for nightlife, all those hours tending bar in Florida have eased Kara's thirst for the after-dark scene. "I haven't really gone out that much since moving to L.A.," she says. "I'm not a big party girl, but I've gone out with Hef and his girlfriends a bunch. It's crazy hanging out with them because now it's not just Hef getting all the attention—everyone recognizes Bridget, Holly and Kendra from The Girls Next Door."

The one character missing in Kara's fairy tale thus far is the handsome prince. "I'm single and just dating right now," she says. "I feel like it's difficult to meet nice men who don't just want to date you for what you've done." She says she's into spontaneity, homemade dinners and bubble baths. Another tip for would-be suitors: Suggest a night in watching reality TV. "It's my guilty pleasure," she says, biting her lip.

If Kara does hit it big someday and becomes a household name, would she pose nude for us again? She flashes diat marquee smile. "In a heartbeat."

See Kara's original Playmate pictorial at cuber, playboy.com