Kelly Monaco Biography

Kelly Monaco's big win on the 2005 "reality" series Dancing With the Stars made her a household name in much of America. 5'1", brunette and curvy, Monaco posed for Playboy magazine in April of 1997, then landed a small recurring role in the series Baywatch (1997-98). Her next stop was soap operas: she appeared on Port Charles from 1999-2003, then moved to General Hospital in 2003, where she played the rebellious Samantha "Sam" McCall. Dancing With the Stars featured celebrities like model Rachel Hunter and boxer Evander Holyfield paired with professional partners in a seies of ballroom dance competitions. The show was the surprise hit of summer 2005, and Monaco and her partner Alec Mazo won the competition after a final dance-off with actor John O'Hurley (who played J. Peterman on the show Seinfeld) and his partner Charlotte Jorgensen.