Barbi Benton is a retired American model, actress, songwriter, television personality, and singer known for her radiant smile and bright, shining eyes. She was wildly successful in the late nineties, but she retired early to focus on raising her children.
The actress is famous for dating Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner, appearing in Playboy magazine, several seasons of the show “Hee Haw”, and releasing several modestly successful albums.
After Benton launched her modelling career at the age of 16, she hustled hard to get a foot in the door in the entertainment industry. At the age of 18, she met the 42-year-old Hugh Hefner through which she got a foot in the door by appearing alongside him in Playboy “After Dark” issue.
She has always been a great and enterprising beauty, so what has Barbi Benton been up to since the years she retired from the industry? Let’s find out. First, here are the top 10 facts about Barbi Benton.
Top 10 facts about Barbi Benton
- Barbi Benton was born on 28 January 1950, and she is now 71 years old in 2021.
- Barbi Benton height is listed as 1.6 meters or 5 feet and three inches (5’3″).
- The actress and model was born and raised in a Jewish family.
- Benton originally wanted to become a veterinarian before giving up that dream because she could not stand the sight of blood.
- She had a long relationship with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and influenced some of his major decisions.
- Barbi Benton is worth 20 million dollars ($20 million).
- After her retirement from the show business, the model became an interior designer.
- When Hugh Hefner and Barbi Benton broke up in 1976, she received a large financial settlement.
- Benton is married to George Gradow, and the couple has two children together.
- Her husband, George, has been to prison once for tax evasion.
Early life
Barbi Benton was born Barbara Lynn Klein on 28 January 1950 in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father first worked as a military doctor before the family moved to Sacramento, and he became a gynaecologist while her mother was an investment counsellor.
Benton was treated to a life of convenience. She grew up in an affluent family and attended Rio Americano High School, where she tried her hand at a lot of things, including scuba diving and playing the piano. She even engaged in tearoom modelling while she was in high school, which arguably launched her into a modelling career.
Benton enrolled at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) to study veterinary medicine but quit because she could not stand the sight of blood.
Career
When Barbi Benton was in college, she signed up with a commercial agency to be “the new face in town”. After that, she started to appear in television commercials. At the age of 18, she took a job with Playboy to appear in Playboy’s entertainment show “After Dark”.
Although Benton started as an extra, she soon caught the eye of Hugh Hefner, who was the show’s host and was subsequently elevated to co-host. After filming a few episodes together, Hefner propositioned Benton.
Upon hearing his offer, Benton replied, “I don’t know, I’ve never dated anyone over 24 before.” And Hefner replied, “That’s all right, neither have I.” The two started dating soon after.
Benton assumed a place beside Hefner, and the two were lovers for many years. She had a hand in many of his major decisions, including the one where he decided to buy the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills in 1974.
He also convinced her to change her name from Barbara Lynn Klein to Barbie Benton as it was more marketable. Benton appeared on four covers of Playboy Magazine; in July 1969, March 1970, May 1972, and December 1985 but was credited as Barbi Klein. She also did two nude layouts in December 1973 and January 1975.
Although she appeared in several Playboy magazine spreads, she was never featured as Playmate of the month. When the two broke up in 1976, Benton allegedly received a large financial settlement. Hefner would later say that meeting Benton was the best thing that came out of his TV show.
After spending several years in the Playboy universe, she decided to venture into acting. She made her debut film appearance in the 1970 West German comedy film “Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht” (or “How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business?”). The film is also known as “The Naughty Cheerleader” in some international markets. She changed her name to Barbara Benton for the film as the producers wanted her to have a more American sounding name.
After that, she started to secure more roles in film and television. In 1972, she was cast in the television show “Hee Haw”, a comedy show that featured one-liners and comedy sketches interspersed with country music. She left after four years to pursue more opportunities in Hollywood.
Subsequently, she was cast in the 1973 comedy film “The Great American Beauty Contest”, where she appeared as Miss Iowa. Additionally, she featured in other films, including 1972’s “Marcus Welby, M.D.”, 1975’s “McCloud”, 1978’s “The Hollywood Squares’”, and the 1980 TV film “For the Love of It”.
Benton also appeared on talk shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” from 1974 to 1980, “Sugar Time!” from 1977 to 1978, the TV show “Fantasy Island” from 1978 to 1982 and “The Love Boat” from 1978 to 1987.
Her later film credits include the 1982 film “Hospital Massacre” and the 1983 film “Deathstalker”, both of which had her in lead roles.
Barbi Benton was also a singer, releasing up to eight moderately successful albums. She debuted as a country singer in 1975 with the album “Barbi Doll”, released under Playboy Records. The album peaked at number 17 on the US Country chart, and her single “Brass Buckles” was a top-five hit on Billboard’s Country Singles.
She released three more albums under Playboy records, namely “‘Barbi Benton” (1975), “Something New” (1976) and “Ain’t That Just the Way” (1978). “Aint That Just the Way” became a hit in Sweden. In 1988, she signed with Takoma records and released a pop album titled “Kinetic Voltage”.
Between 2005 and 2009, she appeared on the documentary “The Girls Next Door” as Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriend.
Personal life
On 14 October 1979, Barbi Benton married real estate developer George Gradow. On 23 August 1986, they had their first child, a boy named Alexander Benton Gradow and welcomed a daughter named Ariana Gradow on 13 July 1988.
Goerge Gradow is a famous real estate guru based in Aspen, Colorado, and owns several companies, including Downing Investments, Inc., Trafalgar Management Company, Inc., Regency of Texas, Inc., Regency of Nebraska Inc., and Kansas Associates.
He has served as the president at all these companies except for the last one. Gradow rarely flaunts his wealth and even keeps out of the limelight, as is common among the wealthy business people of the world.
He is worth over $50 million. Gradow has been faced with a number of setbacks; most notably, in 2006, he was charged to court for tax fraud and for altering interest rates and due dates for his gain. He was sentenced to jail for one year, fined $5,000 and ordered to pay the IRS $128,000 in restitution.
The former actress and model enjoyed many years in the limelight and saw many of her dreams come true. After she welcomed her children, however, she decided to retire from show business to focus on raising her kids.
In 2012, Barbi Benton appeared in the documentary show “Million Dollar Rooms”, a reality show showing the Gradow-Benton family home in Aspen, Colorado.
Where is Barbi Benton now?
Although many years have passed, Barbi Benton is still as radiant as ever, and the bright smile and shining eyes that attracted people to her in the first place are still present.
She prefers to spend the majority of her time outside the limelight, but it is known that after she retired from show business, Benton became an interior designer. Her most recent public appearance was in 2014 when she was interviewed about Bill Cosby’s sexual assault allegations.
Apart from that, though, Benton prefers to keep a low profile. Her children have really grown up now, although neither of them is currently in Hollywood. Her son, Alexander Gradow, has kept a low profile, but her daughter, Ariana, currently works as a personal coach, an aerial performer, and an acrobat. She also owns a professional entertainment firm that has been in business since 2009.
Barbi Benton nude
During her time as a model for Playboy, several Barbi Benton nude photos appeared in the famous adult magazine. Many of these photos have been reproduced and are still being circulated online.
Barbi Benton net worth
Barbi Benton worked in the entertainment industry for many years, and although she worked as an actress, singer, and model for many years, she is best known as Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriend.
As previously stated, Benton received a large financial settlement after her 1976 breakup with Hefner. This contributed to her net worth as well as the income from her successful singing career. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Benton is currently worth 20 million dollars ($20 million)