A native of Philadelphia, Kelly Monaco started taking acting classes while in high school. By 1996, she was also considering a career in modeling. As beautiful as she is, she hardly had to say “Look at me” before…

After being named Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in April 1997, Monaco discovered that looks could kill — and hers did! She appeared several more times in Playboy and was also an FHM and Maxim covergirl.

The photo may be blurry, but Monaco’s career was coming into focus. In 1997, she booked her first TV role, that of rookie lifeguard Susan on Baywatch. In addition to making a splash on the beach — and serving as castmate Carmen Electra’s body double — the rising star also made a to-die for big-screen debut.

If you’re gonna be in a thriller like Idle Hands, you wanna get a good death scene — and boy, did Monaco ever. Her character’s make-out session with her boyfriend — with both of them in full KISS makeup — was cut short by the possessed paws that gave the movie its title.

In 1999, Monaco entered the daytime arena when she was cast as Livvie Locke on General Hospital spinoff Port Charles. At first, it was a soap centered on the hospital’s interns. But then it went…

Once Michael Easton sunk his teeth into the role of Caleb Morley, Port Charles got really juicy — and the blood-sucker’s pairing with Livvie remains one of the sexiest in soap history.

When Port Charles was sent to the daytime graveyard in 2003 — and sadly didn’t rise from it like the proverbial vampire — Monaco was given her choice of soap roles. She could’ve joined All My Children as Babe Carey but instead happily declared…

Upon joining General Hospital as con artist Sam McCall, Monaco hit the ground running and, well, basically never stopped. She couldn’t have known at the time, but supercoupledom awaited.

Monaco clicked with one General Hospital leading man (Jason Thompson) after another (Maurice Benard). But it was Sam’s pairing with Steve Burton and then the late Billy Miller’s Jason Morgan that really KO’d fans.

Needless to say, along the way, General Hospital couldn’t resist re-pairing Monaco with Port Charles’ Easton, first when he was playing One Life to Live’s John McBain, then when he took on the new role of Silas Clay.

In 2005, Monaco competed with pro partner Alec Mazo in the inaugural season of Dancing With the Stars — and beat Loving and Santa Barbara alum John O’Hurley to win first prize!

A decade later, Monaco again went Dancing With the Stars. Paired this time with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, she couldn’t quite grab the elusive mirrorball trophy and came in third place.

In 2011, Monaco joined a bunch of her daytime pals, among them General Hospital castmate Kirsten Storms (Maxie), in the E! reality series Dirty Soap, which was created by All My Children vets Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.

As Monaco’s run on General Hospital lengthened, Sam was given a surprise mom (Alexis Davis), a surprise dad (the “late” Julian Jerome), two half sisters, a half brother and a pair of her own kids.

Twice, Monaco has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy — once for Port Charles and once for General Hospital. In 2006, she also co-hosted the awards with Dancing With the Stars’ then-ringleader Tom Bergeron.

After General Hospital “killed off” Jason for the second time, Monaco’s Sam was moved into a new relationship with former lover Sonny Corinthos’ oldest child, Dante Falconeri. And thus, “Sante” was born.

In August 2024, just before Dante’s former wife Lulu Spencer was due to be awakened from her years-long coma, it was reported that Monaco had been let go by General Hospital. Needless to say, fans were displeased to imagine Sam being remanded to the Port Charles cemetery.

As popular as Monaco is, we have to imagine that once again she will have her pick of roles on other shows. In fact, we have several ideas about Young & Restless, Bold & Beautiful and Days of Our Lives characters she could play.