Karen McDougal

About Karen McDougal

Karen McDougal is a Phoenix, Arizona-based model and actress. She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year in 1998. In 2001, Playboy readers voted her runner-up for "The sexiest Playmate of the 1990s."
She was born in Merrillville, Indiana, and grew up in Sawyer, Michigan. She attended Ferris State University in Michigan, then moved to a Detroit suburb, where she taught preschool pre-kindergarten. After winning a swimwear competition, she began working as a glamour, promotional and swimsuit model. After her Playboy appearances, she worked in other magazine modelling, television commercials and minor acting roles.
She has worked as a fitness model, with multiple magazine appearances, and was the first female cover figure on Men's Fitness magazine. She starred in The Arena, a 2001 direct-to-video film, and was the subject of a fantasy art statuette and a doll. She last appeared topless in a pictorial and interview in the Spanish magazine Interviu in 2007, in which she discussed her then relationship with actor Bruce Willis.
She studied ballet in her youth, took part in high school sports and collects motorcycles and cars. The revelation of an alleged affair with Donald Trump from 2006 to 2007, and its subsequent coverup, received national news coverage before and after the 2016 United States presidential election.
Her family has a history of breast cancer, and she is an advocate of breast cancer awareness. In January 2017, she had her breast implants removed after her health had worsened. She is not a proficient swimmer because of a fear of water (aquaphobia).