Karen McDougal
Encyclopedia
Karen McDougal is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...

 magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998. In 2001, the readers of Playboy voted McDougal "No. 2 Sexiest Playmate of the 1990s."

McDougal taught pre-kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...

 before winning a swimwear competition
Bikini contest
A bikini contest is a beauty contest where women compete against each other in bikinis.Bikini contests can take place in bars, nightclubs, at beaches, and beauty pageants. Related companies regularly sponsor such contests to discover and attract new talents to promote their products...

 that launched her career as a glamour, promotional
Promotional model
A promotional model is a person hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential consumers. A promotional model can be female or male, and typically is intended to be attractive in physical appearance. They serve to provide information...

, and swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...

 model. Since her appearances in Playboy, she has extended her career into a wide variety of appearances in mainstream media, including other magazine modeling, television commercials, and minor acting, with mixed success. She has been a successful fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 model, with multiple magazine appearances including being the first woman to appear on the cover of Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness is a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series The Greatest American Hero....

 magazine. She starred in The Arena
The Arena (2001 film)
The Arena is a direct-to-video film from producer Roger Corman on the subject of female gladiators. It is a remake of the 1974 The Arena with Pam Grier...

, a direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 film, and inspired the creation of a fantasy art
Fantasy art
Fantasy art is a genre of art that depicts magical or other supernatural themes, ideas, creatures or settings. While there is some overlap with science fiction, horror and other speculative fiction art, there are unique elements not generally found in other forms of speculative fiction art...

 statuette and a doll
Doll
A doll is a model of a human being, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have traditionally been used in magic and religious rituals throughout the world, and traditional dolls made of materials like clay and wood are found in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe. The earliest documented dolls...

. She has ventured into business and is interested in pursuing work as a television host.

McDougal is a fitness enthusiast, since childhood ballet study and high school sports. She is an avid motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 and car collector. Since her Playmate days, she has maintained a largely private social life.

Early life and education

Although her Playmate datasheet stated she was born in Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...

, McDougal was actually born in Merrillville, Indiana
Merrillville, Indiana
Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is located in the east-central portion of Lake County.-Geography:Merrillville is located at ....

, near Gary. She is of Cherokee Indian and Irish descent. McDougal is the first daughter in the family with 3 older brothers, Bob, Dave and Jeff, and a younger sister, Tina. Her mother, Carol, remarried when McDougal was 9 years old and the family moved to Sawyer, Michigan where she remained until college.

McDougal studied tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...

 and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 as a child. Her childhood dream, prior to teaching and modeling, was to become a ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...

. She attended River Valley High School
River Valley High School (Three Oaks, Michigan)
River Valley High School is the high school for the River Valley School District located in Three Oaks, Michigan....

 and became a cheerleader, band member
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

, color guard
Color guard
In the military of the United States and other militaries, the color guard carries the National Color and other flags appropriate to its position in the chain of command. Typically these include a unit flag and a departmental flag...

, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

 player, as well as Michigan state champion clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 player for 4 years in a row in high school. Her high school nickname was "Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....

" due to her wholesome sweetness. After graduating high school in 1989,
she attended Ferris State University
Ferris State University
Ferris State University is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1884 as the Big Rapids Industrial School by Woodbridge Nathan Ferris, an educator from New England who later served as governor of the State of Michigan and finally in the US Senate where...

 at Big Rapids, Michigan
Big Rapids, Michigan
Big Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,849. It is the county seat of Mecosta County. The city is located within Big Rapids Township, but is politically independent.-Geography:...

, majoring in Elementary Education.

After 2 years of college, McDougal moved to a Detroit suburb where she taught pre-kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...

, before being persuaded to try out for a swimsuit competition. One of her professional goals has always been to open a learning center for children, but she has put those plans on hold to focus on pursuing roles in acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....

 and modelling
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

.

Playboy

In 1997, McDougal tried out and won her local Venus Swimwear
Venus Swimwear
In 1984, Daryle Scott created Venus Body Wear, selling ladies' leotards and exercise apparel via full-page ads in Cosmopolitan and other national magazines. A year later, the company expanded to include women’s swimwear and became known as Venus Swimwear. In 1999, Venus acquired WinterSilks, a...

 swimsuit competition
Bikini contest
A bikini contest is a beauty contest where women compete against each other in bikinis.Bikini contests can take place in bars, nightclubs, at beaches, and beauty pageants. Related companies regularly sponsor such contests to discover and attract new talents to promote their products...

 in Michigan, earning her place at the international final in Florida. Her victory caught the eye of Playboy photographer David Mecey
David Mecey
David Mecey began working with Playboy magazine in the fall of 1979, serving as staff photographer and later as Contributing Photographer. During his career at Playboy, Mecey has had numerous solo pictorials including; “The Girls of Texas”, and "Women of Wall Street”. Along with David Chan, he also...

. Soon after that she was approached by Playboy for a test shoot at Playboy Studio West
Playboy Studio West
Playboy Studio West is located at 2112 Broadway Avenue, Santa Monica, CA. It is one of Playboy's key studio facilities for Playboy photographers to shoot centerfolds and playmate pictorials...

 which she accepted. Upon completing her test shoot, she was promptly selected to return for a complete photo and video shoot and chosen as Miss December 1997. Her pictorial, which was shot by photographers Richard Fegley
Richard Fegley
Leon Richard Fegley was a professional photographer who worked for Playboy magazine for 30 years.Fegley started taking photos during a stint in the United States Air Force, and eventually attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In 1971 he joined Playboy as a freelance...

 and Stephen Wayda
Stephen Wayda
Stephen Wayda is an American professional photographer. He has shot many pictorials of Playboy Playmates.-External links:*...

, has a winter theme and its outdoor portion was shot in the snowy fields near Park City, Utah
Park City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...

. Her video, the "Playmate Profile", was featured on Playboy TV
Playboy TV
Playboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...

 soon after her magazine debut.

In May 1998, she was announced to have been chosen by Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...

 and fans as Playmate of the Year (PMOY) of 1998 at a luncheon at the Playboy Mansion
Playboy Mansion
The Playboy Mansion is the home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner. Located in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, California, the mansion became famous during the 1970s through media reports of Hefner's lavish parties.-History:The house is described as being in the "Gothic-Tudor" style...

.
As her reward, she was awarded $100,000 and a special edition silver Shelby Series 1
Shelby Series 1
Shelby Series 1 was a high-performance roadster designed by Carroll Shelby and produced by Shelby American.It was powered by Oldsmobile's 4.0 L L47 Aurora V8 DOHC engine. It has 320 hp at 6500 rpm, at 5000 rpm and will do 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds and records 12.8 seconds in the...

 convertible with a customized Michigan license plate "PMOY 98". McDougal's PMOY pictorial was featured in the July 1998 issue of Playboy where she also appeared on its cover. In contrast to her Playmate pictorial, her PMOY pictorial has a tropical theme and its outdoor portion was shot at Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...

. According to her interview in her Playmate of the Year "Video Centerfold" which was released soon after her PMOY issue debuted, she believes her physical imperfections are her "funny" smile, her crooked pinkies
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....

 which she inherited
Heredity
Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring . This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause some species to evolve...

 from her grandfather and her "ugly feet" which she wishes others would not look at. Because of the popularity of the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 television series "Pop-up Video
Pop-up Video
Pop Up Video is a VH1 television show that "pops up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia, witticisms and borderline sexual innuendos throughout music videos. The show was created by Woody Thompson and Tad Low and premiered October 27, 1996. For a time, it was the...

" at the time, one of the segments in her PMOY video was done as a Pop-up Video parody filled with factoids about her and Playboy. During her appearance on The Magic Hour to promote her PMOY issue, McDougal demonstrated her signature pose, straddle split
Split (gymnastics)
A split is a human body configuration in which the legs are parallel to each other and extended in opposite directions. Splits are performed in various athletic activities, including dance, figure skating, gymnastics, martial arts, contortionism, synchronized swimming, cheerleading and yoga...

 on TV in front of a live studio audience.

Playboy has continued to publish her material in its international editions, Playboy Cyber Club
Playboy Cyber Club
The Playboy Cyber Club is the subscription based premium service portion of Playboy Online that serves as an online complement to Playboy magazine, the U.S. and World's biggest selling men's magazine. It debuted in 1995 as part of Playboy Online and continues as its premium service today...

, Playboy Special Edition
Playboy Special Edition
Playboy Special Editions are a spin-off series of Playboy magazine devoted entirely to softcore nude photographs of the Playboy models that are found sporadically scattered in the monthly Playboy magazine.Unlike the monthly magazine, which features a variety of articles, opinion columns, and works...

 publications and Playboy Videos. Many regard her as a favorite Playmate because of her combination of beauty, "Girl next door
Girl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...

" appeal and curvaceous figure, according to a November 2001 Playboy poll in the special edition Sexiest Playmates. In that issue, she was voted "Readers' Choice No.2 Sexiest Playmate of the 1990s", with Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...

 taking the No.1 spot. In an online chat
Online chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...

 in 2002, McDougal expressed interest in posing nude for Playboy again if offered.

Fitness modeling

In March 1999, McDougal became the first woman to appear on the cover of Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness
Men's Fitness is a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series The Greatest American Hero....

 magazine. Since then she expanded her career into fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 modeling by appearing in fitness and body building
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...

 magazines such as Muscle & Fitness
Muscle & Fitness
Muscle & Fitness is an American bodybuilding magazine founded by Joe Weider, but now published by American Media, Inc.-History:Muscle & Fitness has a more mainstream focus than its companion publication, Flex...

 (January 2000), Physical (June 2004) and Iron Man
Iron Man (magazine)
Iron Man Magazine is a publication which discusses bodybuilding, weightlifting and powerlifting. It was founded in 1936 by two Alliance, Nebraska natives, Peary Rader and his wife, Mabel Rader.-History:...

 (October 2005, January 2006, June 2007 and November 2009). She appeared in a 10-page pictorial in the January 2006 issue of Iron Man as "Hardbody" of the month, and on the cover of its October 2005 and June 2007 issues. McDougal returned as "Hardbody" of the month in the November 2009 issue in a pictorial together with fellow Playmate Katie Lohmann
Katie Lohmann
Katie Lohmann is a model, actress, and most notably a Playboy Playmate for the Month for April 2001....

. In interviews, she stated that her transition to fitness modeling was unintentional.

Other appearances

Playboy released a limited edition doll
Playboy Collectors' Figure Series
Playboy Collectors' Figures are a series of dolls modeled after popular Playboy Playmates. Generally known as Playboy Dolls, the first doll was launched at the International Toy Fair in New York in 2002. The dolls are 16 inches tall, dwarfing G.I. Joe dolls by 4 inches...

 in 2002 based on the likeness of McDougal and emphasized that it was an accurate model of her statuesque physique. Her collectors' figure was originally slated to be the first in the series to be released, however it was delayed due to redesigns. McDougal collaborated with fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 sculptor Bill Toma
Bill Toma
Bill Toma pursues a wide range of subject matter, including fantasy art, wildlife, renaissance Harlequins, and nudes by crafting very detailed bronze sculptures decorated with colorfull Patina. His sculptures includes fantasy animals such as dragons and fantasy female characters...

 in creating a limited edition bronze statuette titled Warrior Princess in 2003. McDougal posed for Toma in the creative process and the pedestal
Pedestal
Pedestal is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase....

 of each statuette bears her signature.

In spring of 2004, McDougal appeared in a photo spread in the Italian edition of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

 with fellow Playmates, Pamela Anderson, Audra Lynn
Audra Lynn
Audra Lynn is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for October 2003.Lynn appeared nude in a photo spread in an Italian edition of Vogue with fellow playmates Pamela Anderson, Tishara Cousino and Karen McDougal in 2004...

 and Tishara Cousino. It was a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 themed men's fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...

 spread shot in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 by photographer David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle is a photographer and director who works in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography, and is noted for his surreal, unique, sexualized, and often humorous style.-Early life:...

. The spread contained her first published nudes since her contract with Playboy expired years ago. She travelled to Japan to be one of the eye candies for Scott Hall
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...

 and Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...

 (The Outsiders) when they wrestled at Yokohama, Japan in May 2004. McDougal also participated in the 50th Anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...

 celebrations of Playboy throughout the year at Las Vegas, New York and Moscow with other Playmates past and present.

McDougal appeared in the 2005 Playmates at Play at the Playboy Mansion swimsuit calendar
Wall calendar
A wall calendar is a calendar intended for placement on a wall. Wall calendars can serve as reminders of holidays, important events, and company events. They typically consist of a collection of images on a given subject....

 as the calendar girl of July. The calendar was the inaugural Playmates at Play calendar and it was shot on the grounds of Playboy Mansion in 2004. It was Playboys first attempt at creating a non-nude swimsuit calendar featuring Playmates similar in style with those from Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....

. While all Playmates appeared in bikinis in the calendar, McDougal and Hiromi Oshima
Hiromi Oshima
is a Japanese model and in June 2004 became the second Japanese-born Playboy Playmate. The first Japanese-born Playmate was Lieko English who appeared in the June 1971 issue of Playboy...

 were the only two Playmates actually wearing only painted on bikinis.

In November 2006, she was part of a trio of Playmates (along with Tina Marie Jordan
Tina Marie Jordan
Tina Marie Jordan is an American glamour model and actress.Jordan grew up in Los Angeles with seven sisters and two brothers. She tried many career paths, including college, business school, and cosmetology school, and was working as a loan processor and trying to get her real estate license when...

 and Katie Lohmann) that appeared in the "Celebrity Playmate Gift Guide" pictorial of Splat magazine, a paintball
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...

 enthusiasts magazine. The pictorial showcased new paintball products for the 2006 holiday season. McDougal has also appeared in various pin-up posters, calendars, magazine covers, advertising campaigns, promotional events, clothing, swimwear and lingerie catalogs following her success as Playmate of the Year.

Television and film

McDougal appeared in a series of sexy television commercials
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...

 for XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...

 football league on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 and UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...

 with the theme of "Cheerleaders". These edgy XFL commercials with implied nudity backfired and caused a controversy as they were deemed too risqué by the media, they were quietly withdrawn before the launch of 2001 XFL inaugural (and final) season.

In 2001, she co-starred with Lisa Dergan in The Arena
The Arena (2001 film)
The Arena is a direct-to-video film from producer Roger Corman on the subject of female gladiators. It is a remake of the 1974 The Arena with Pam Grier...

, a Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...

-produced, direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

 movie directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov is a Kazakh-born director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and commercials. He is mostly popular for the Russian film Night Watch and its sequel Day Watch , and the American film Wanted .-Early life:Bekmambetov was born on June 25, 1961 in the...

. The entire production was shot in Russia. In her feature film debut, McDougal's character, Jessemina, is a slave girl who is forced into fighting as a female gladiator in an Ancient Roman colony by its corrupt governor
Roman governor
A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many provinces constituting the Roman Empire...

. The role offered McDougal her first opportunity to act in a dramatic role and to demonstrate her physical abilities with the movie's sword fighting
Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...

 sequences. The movie, initially titled Gladiatrix was deemed to be a knockoff of Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

. Although the movie was not well received, it has turned into a lesser known cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...

.

McDougal was one of twelve contestants in the search for the new host succeeding Brooke Burke
Brooke Burke
Brooke Burke Charvet , better known by her maiden name, Brooke Burke, is an actress, dancer, model and television personality...

 for Wild On! in 2002 (known as Wild Off!). The contest took place at The Palms in Las Vegas. Each contestant was given a "wild" challenge to complete and McDougal's challenge was to dress up as Cleopatra and roam the casino at Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....

 in the arms of an actor dressed up as Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 for a day. She completed her challenge and was considered an early favorite by fellow contestants, but did not advance to the final round of 5 contestants. Cindy Taylor
Cindy Taylor
Cindy Taylor is a fashion model, actress and television host. Born in Asunción, Paraguay to a Paraguayan mother, her father was a United States citizen, having relocated the family to Clarksburg, West Virginia immediately after Taylor was born...

 was the eventual winner of Wild Off!.

After winning the local try out in Los Angeles, McDougal advanced to World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

's (WWE) RAW Diva Search 2004
WWE Diva Search
The WWE Diva Search is a talent competition held by World Wrestling Entertainment. The first winner was Jaime Koeppe, but she did not receive a contract like subsequent winners of the contest. Other winners included Christy Hemme, Ashley Massaro, Layla El, and Eve Torres. In addition to the winners...

 special held at the Beacon Theatre in New York as one of 28 finalists. The special was televised live on Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...

 with a live audience on July 15, 2004. McDougal, clad in a black bikini, survived 2 rounds of elimination during the 2 hour special, only to be eliminated by the judges in the last round at the end, just prior to the selection of the final 10 contestants eligible for online voting.

McDougal appeared as one of the interviewees in E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and well-known public figures...

 of Hugh Hefner first broadcasted on April 9, 2006. She briefly described her experience at the Playboy Mansion when she was Miss December 1997. In summer of 2006, McDougal appeared as a fitness model demonstrating all the exercises in a fitness training DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 with Hollywood celebrity fitness trainer Valerie Waters.

McDougal is interested in pursuing hosting duties
Master of Ceremonies
A Master of Ceremonies , or compere, is the host of a staged event or similar performance.An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving....

 of TV or sports shows. She has guest hosted TV programs (Wild On!
Wild On!
Wild On! is a travel show that was produced from 1997 until 2003 by E!.The series transported its viewers to the scariest "fun" destinations in the world, from Miami to Milan. It had three primary hosts over the years: Jules Asner , Brooke Burke , and Cindy Taylor...

 on E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...

, VIP Access on Showtime), appeared in other TV programs (such as: Lovespring International
Lovespring International
Lovespring International is an American comedy series created by Guy Shalem and Brad Isaacs which aired on Lifetime on Mondays at 11pm during the Summer of 2006 in the United States. Lovespring was canceled on December 1, 2006...

, The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...

, Playmate edition of Russian Roulette
Russian Roulette (game show)
Russian Roulette is an American game show created by executive producer Gunnar Wetterberg that ran for two seasons on Game Show Network from June 3, 2002 to June 13, 2003. It was hosted by Mark L. Walberg, with Burton Richardson announcing. Todd Newton hosted an April Fool's Day episode in 2003....

, etc.), movies (cameos
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

 in Joe Dirt
Joe Dirt
Joe Dirt is a 2001 American comedy film starring David Spade, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Brian Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressly, Erik Per Sullivan, Adam Beach and Kid Rock. The film was written by Spade and Fred Wolf.-Plot:...

, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels (film)
Charlie's Angels is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by McG, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three women working for a private investigation agency...

, Grind
Grind (2003 film)
Grind is a 2003 American adventureassshole movie comedy film about four young aspiring amateur skaters Eric Rivers , Matt Jensen , Dustin Knight , and Sweet Lou Singer who are trying to make it in the world of pro skateboarding by pulling insane stunts in front of pro skater Jimmy Wilson...

, The Girl Next Door and Raising Helen
Raising Helen
Raising Helen is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall and written by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler. It stars Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Hayden Panettiere, Spencer and his sister Abigail Breslin and Helen Mirren...

) and music videos (singer David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....

).

Business venture

In 2010, McDougal became one of the owners of Pharmore Alternatives, a company selling various health and wellness supplements. She attended the 2011 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo
AVN Adult Entertainment Expo
The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo is a trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored by the Adult Video News Magazine . The 2010 AVN Awards show was held during the Expo at the nearby Palms Casino Resort. The AEE is the largest pornography industry trade show in the United...

 in January 2011 to promote its products.

Personal life

McDougal relishes the thrill of speed as she is an avid motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 rider and car collector. Her first modelling assignment was being a promotional model
Promotional model
A promotional model is a person hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential consumers. A promotional model can be female or male, and typically is intended to be attractive in physical appearance. They serve to provide information...

 at a Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...

 bike show in Detroit. In 2004, she bought a pink custom-built motorcycle, and entered an Easyriders
Easyriders
Easyriders is an American motorcycle magazine, founded in 1971. It is published monthly by Paisano Publications, LLC.In addition to its coverage of motorcycles and related activities, Easyriders is also known for including pictures of nude or topless women and paintings by David Mann who was a...

 sponsored motorcycle competition in Pomona
Pomona
Pomona was a goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion and myth. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. She was said to be a wood nymph and a part of the Numia, guardian spirits who watch over people, places, or homes...

, where her motorcycle won the Best Radical Custom award. She also professes to be a chocoholic and junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...

 junkie even when she considers herself a "health nut". In her spare time, she works out 5 days a week to stay in shape. When she was Playmate of the Year of 1998, she had a healthy BMI
Body mass index
The body mass index , or Quetelet index, is a heuristic proxy for human body fat based on an individual's weight and height. BMI does not actually measure the percentage of body fat. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing...

 of 19. Although she is a swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...

 model, she is not a proficient swimmer because of her aquaphobia
Aquaphobia
Aquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water. Aquaphobia is a specific phobia that involves a level of fear that is beyond the patient's control or that may interfere with daily life. People suffer aquaphobia in many ways and may experience it even though they realize the water in an...

. She is an animal lover and owned two cats: Brittany and Brandy. McDougal has 2 tattoos, one is a tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...

 of a cat on the second toe
Toe
Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being digitigrade. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being plantigrade; unguligrade animals are those that walk on hooves at the tips of...

 of her right foot to honor her cats, the other is that of a cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...

 behind her right ear as a reminder of her spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

.

McDougal's family members initially did not support her decision to pose for Playboy. Eventually, they embraced the fact and her mother appeared in interview segments of her Playmate of the Year "Video Centerfold" as a sign of support. Her family has a history of breast cancer, and McDougal, who acknowledges having breast implants, is an advocate of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

 awareness. As of 2007, McDougal is residing in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 and Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

. In March 2008, McDougal appeared in a topless pictorial and interview in Spanish magazine Interviu
Interviu
Interviú is a Spanish magazine published by Grupo Zeta that is famous for publishing semi-nude and nude photographs of the rich and famous, sometimes using paparazzi photoshoots or posed pictorials .It also publishes articles on political and economic scandals, and features opinion pieces by...

.

Quotes

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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