Meet Kimberly McArthur!
I always enjoy discovering an Actress who was discovered thanks to Playboy Magazine, and then went on to make some fun cult films!
My “2023 Sex Kitten Countdown” has the story of one such Model-turned-Actress!
Kimberly Ann McArthur was born on September 16, 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas.
McArthur tried out for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, but wasn’t chosen. She then landed a role in a musical revue called”The Rock’n’Roll Girls,” and ended up in Los Angeles, California.
That led to a modeling career that helped shine a spotlight on her.
Kimberly’s big break came when she was chosen as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in January 1982.
She went on to appear in several “Playboy” videos and special editions of the magazine as well.
These appearances led to roles in a variety of mainstream and cult films like these:
Kimberly landed a role in the soap opera spoof “Young Doctors in Love;”
She also had a memorably sexy bit as Rodney Dangerfield’s tempting topless swinger neighbor Ginger Jones in “Easy Money:”
She had a blast in one of the classic 80’s action films:
“Malibu Express!”
This 1985 is a great example of the VHS era of film, thanks to Andy Sidaris – check out the trailer:
These were great drive-in movies that also were hugely successful on home video – making Sidaris one of the best in the business!
The Iconic Sybil Danning showed in the film as well…I’ve shared her story, and you can see more of her most revealing roles by clicking on my story here:
She starred in this popular sequel “Slumber Party Massacre II.”
Check out the trailer:
While the roles weren’t leads, she was working steady, and the Playboy exposure certainly didn’t hurt her either:
However, then her career went off the rails.
In 1988, she landed a role in a real soap opera “Santa Barbara”, but left the show after a few months and dropped out of entertainment completely!
So what happened?
No way to know, as the biographical material dries up. Hopefully, she just decided the business wasn’t for her…in fact, I’ve told the story of several Playmates who never went into entertainment:
Candy Loving was Playboy’s 25th Anniversary Playmate – but she dropped out of the limelight soon after – you can see her compelling story here:
Many do go on to great careers in film and TV.
Here’s another example:
Hope Marie Carlton was in Playboy, and an Andy Sidaris action film as well!
See more of here credits here:
Another great Actress / Playboy Model was Roberta Vasquez – and she also appeared in Andy Sidaris films:
Vasquez had a great cult movie career, and you can see it by clicking on my story here:
If you like these stories, you can go to my website’s front page and sign on to follow me – there are NO ads at all, just lots of stories to come about the wild world of exploitation and cult films!
Click here and see the “follow” button on the upper right!
Feel free to update me on anything you know about Kimberly!
Categories: Uncategorized
JR-Sploitation! 
I LOVED seeing Kimberly in “Easy Money”… I hope she’s doing well wherever she is.
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She is no doubt living a life out of the spotlight as most ultimately do…but she left a nice little list of credits! Thanks for commenting!
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I am totally still enamored of Kimberly to this very day. I would constantly rewind the shower scene in Malibu Express, the backyard scene of Easy Money, and the dropping off of her Santa suit in Young Doctors In Love over and over again! I believe she dropped out of sight because she was tired of the constant criticism of her acting skills by the so-called critics who had nothing to do but sit around and bitch about her and everything else without justification. Her performances seemed satisfactory to me!! Losing her was a great loss to Hollywood. The one rumor i read post retirement from acting was that she was living in Maine and now married, but i could never verify it. To this day, she remains one of my most favorite top 10 playmates of all time. Kim, please let us know how you are!
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I assume that in many cases, they simply get tired of being “eye candy” and nothing more…the roles call for toplessness but little else…doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that, just that it may not be satisfying for a long period of time…thanks for commenting!
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Gorgeous woman. Sadly she refused to get naked in Slumber Party Massacre 2 because, after taking her clothes off in her three previous films, she said she was trying to distance herself from nudity.
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As it seems most do, right? They tire of it and want to move on – except for the classic scream queens who embrace the madness!
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What a body! I hadn’t heard of her, but it is nice to think that she might have led a more normal happy life out of the limelight.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, I’m pretty sure that’s the case…many of them just tire of the spotlight and go back to a normal life…thanks as always for the comment!
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That photo of Kimberly McArthur sitting on that bathroom vanity may be the single most striking unforgettable nude female photo I’ve ever seen….
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