Star Stowe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 19, 1956
| Star Stowe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Playboy centerfold appearance | |
| February 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Susan Kiger |
| Succeeded by | Nicki Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ellen Louise Stowe March 19, 1956 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | March 16, 1997 (aged 40)[1] Coral Springs, Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1] |
Star Stowe (born Ellen Louise Price; March 19, 1956, Little Rock, Arkansas[2] – March 16, 1997, Coral Springs, Florida)[1] was an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its February 1977 issue. Stowe was murdered by an unknown assailant.
Stowe was born Ellen Louise Price (Stowe was her stepfather's last name) on March 19, 1956, in Little Rock, Arkansas and grew up in Arkansas, Louisiana and Nevada. Her father was an engineer.[2] When she was a teenager she moved to Las Vegas and then to Los Angeles,[3] where she worked as a stripper in an adult club.[4]
Stowe chose to call herself "Star" because of her love of the skies and had a blue star tattooed below her bikini line.[4]
She dated Gene Simmons and he sent her photos to Playboy. Her shoot was photographed by Pompeo Posar,[1] and included some pictures with a Rickenbacker bass guitar.[2] The shoot was used as the centerfold in the February 1977 issue, and she was Playmate of the Month. She was the first playmate with a visible tattoo.
Stowe at one time dated Kiss founder and bassist Gene Simmons.[5] As well as taking part in a number of publicity shots for the band,[6] Stowe also appeared on one of the band's picture discs.[4]
Stowe later married and divorced Peter Maligo, with whom she had a son, Michael. Stowe moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1986 to find work as an exotic dancer. When Michael was six she sent him to live with her mother but still stayed in touch with him through phone calls and visits.[3] When this job didn't work out, Stowe eventually fell into prostitution, alcoholism and drug abuse.[5]
In 1991, Stowe moved in with a boyfriend and gave up drugs and prostitution. This lasted until August 1996, when after a drunken argument they split. Stowe went back to her former life on the streets.[5]
