Where is Barbi Benton now? Net Worth, Husband, Bio. Died?

• Barbara Lynn Klein, best known as Barbi Benton, is an American model, singer, and actress.
• She is currently alive and living peacefully with her husband in Los Angeles, California.
• She gained recognition after posing for the magazine “Playboy” and portraying a recurring character in the comedy show “Hee Haw”.
• She is also a musician, having released eight albums, and has made appearances in multiple films and TV series.
• She is currently 70 years old and has a net worth of over $20 million.

Known for movies

Hee Haw (1972-1983)
as Herself / Herself - Featured Singer

Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time (1992)
as Herself

Deathstalker (1983)
as Codille

Playboy: Inside the Playboy Mansion (2002)
as Herself

Where is Barbi Benton now? Is she alive? Wiki Bio

Barbara Lynn Klein was born on 28 January 1950, in New York City USA, so her zodiac sign is Aquarius and she holds American nationality. She is a model, singer, and an actress, best known from posing for the magazine “Playboy”, as well as for portraying a recurring character in the comedy show “Hee Haw”. Although there are rumors circulating the internet about Barbi being dead, she is now leading a peaceful life with her husband in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education

Barbi was raised as a single child in Sacramento by her Jewish parents – her mother was an investment counselor, while her father worked at a private clinic as a gynecologist.

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She grew up being interested in modelling and acting, often watching TV series with her mother; she studied at Rio Americano High School where she was very active learning to play a variety of sports mostly being focused on scuba diving and playing the piano. She practiced her modelling skills while attending too, and upon matriculation enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles where she studied to become a veterinarian, but decided to quit after realizing she gets sick whenever she sees blood.

Career as a model and musician

Barbi launched her career while attending 10th grade, and as soon as she turned 18 she was invited to appear in the TV show “Playboy After Dark”.

Hugh Hefner, the late owner of the magazine “Playboy”, had a crush on Barbi, promoted her to become a co-host of “Playboy After Dark”, and asked her out on a date. Barbi accepted even though unsure about their age difference as Hugh was 42, but they dated for several years while Barbi was appearing in many issues of “Playboy”, and in their shows. It was Hugh who told Barbi to change her name from Barbara Lynn Klein to Barbi Benton.

She was the cover girl of four issues of “Playboy” in 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1985, while she also posed nude twice in 1973 and 1975.

Barbi is also a musician, and has released eight albums with her first being “Barbi Doll” in 1975, followed by “Barbi Benton” in the same year. Among her most notable albums are “Something New” which came out in 1976, “Ain’t That Just the Way” in 1978, and “Kinetic Voyage” which was released in 1988. Barbi is known to have composed the songs she sang, and also played the piano – one of her most popular songs is “Ain’t That Just the Way” which was a huge hit in Sweden.

Film appearances

Barbi made her debut film appearance in the German movie “The Naughty Cheerleader” (“Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht”) in 1970, which was followed by roles in the satirical comedy “The Great American Beauty Contest” and in the drama film “The Third Girl from the Left” both released in 1973.

She appeared in only three other movies, “For the Love of It” in 1980, “Hospital Massacre” in 1982, and “Deathstalker” in 1983.

Roles in TV series

Barbi made her debut TV show appearance in “Playboy After Dark” in 1968, followed by her guest appearances in “Hee Haw” and “The Sonny & Cher Show” in 1969. She portrayed Liz in a single episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” in 1972, followed by roles in “The Midnight Special” in 1973, and in “American Bandstand” and “McCloud” in 1975.

She was invited to guest star in “The Bobby Vinton Show” in 1976, and then portrayed Maxx Douglas in “Sugar Time!” in 1977, while she gained recognition after playing eight different characters in the series “Fantasy Island” between 1978 and 1982.

Concurrently she portrayed four characters in “The Love Boat” from 1978 to 1981, and during those years she also appeared in a single episode of many series and shows, such as “America 2Night”, “The Hollywood Squares”, and “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”.

She served as a co-host of the game show “Tattletales” from 1982 to 1984, and then worked on two other game shows “The Match Game” and “Hollywood Squares”. Barbi appeared as Ava Randolph in a single episode of “Matt Houston” in 1983, and was then praised for her portrayal of Susan Lancaster in “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer” in 1984. She continued appearing in single episodes of many TV series, including “Safe at Home”, “Murder, She Wrote”, and “Riptide”.

Barbi had two of her own shows in 1990, entitled “Barbi Benton Presents: Best Buns on the Beach” and “Barbi Benton Presents: Stripper of the Year”, but these were not that popular. She appeared in two documentary series – “Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time” in 1992, and “Playboy: The Party Continues” in 2000, followed by the miniseries “Playboy’s 50th Anniversary” in 2002.

A few of Barbi’s most recent appearances in TV series have been in “The E! True Hollywood Story – Hugh Hefner: Girlfriends, Wives, and Centerfolds” in 2006, “Extreme Cribs: Episode 5” in 2011, and “Million Dollar Rooms” in 2012.

Love life and husband

Barbi dated her high school sweetheart for two years, but split when he decided to continue studying at college while Barbi dropped out to become a model. She went on to date several men for no more than several months, and then began dating Hugh Hefner in 1969, which lasted until  1976. She met George Gradow, a real estate developer and an actor, in 1976 and they dated for over three years before marrying at a small ceremony held in Los Angeles on 14 October 1979. Barbi gave birth to their son Alexander on 23 August 1986, while their daughter Ariana followed on 13 July 1988. Alexander and Ariana both left home when they were 18, and have followed in their father’s footsteps with Alex becoming a businessman and Ariana a real estate agent.

Barbi and George have homes in Los Angeles, California and Aspen, Colorado.

Hobbies and other interests

Barbi has been interested in all kinds of art since she was a teenager, including painting and sculpting, while she was also interested in designing exteriors and interiors. She began learning about interior decorating in the ‘90s and then became a licensed interior decorator in 2002. Although a lover of animals, Barbi enjoyed wearing fur coats and believed that the animals which were killed for their fur wouldn’t have even been born if people did not want them for their fur – she was widely criticized for her opinion.

She was exercising on a daily basis, and had four to five training sessions at the gym until her late 40s. Barbi also followed a strict diet which was important for her modelling career, while she has continued eating healthy foods to this day. Barbi has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are James Stewart, Paul Newman and Grace Kelly, while some of her favorite movies include “To Catch a Thief”, “Dial M for Murder”, and “The Country Girl”.

Appearance and net worth

Barbi is 70 years old. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, and weighs around 112lbs (51kgs). As of April 2020, her net worth is estimated at over $20 million.

Quotes

#	Quote
1	I believe that mink are raised for being turned into fur coats and if we didn't wear fur coats those little animals would never have been born. So is it better not to have been born or to have lived for a year or two to have been turned into a fur coat? I don't know.

Facts

#	Fact
1	Has became an Interior Decorator [2002]
2	Barbi recorded and released four albums for Playboy Records in the 1970's.
3	Her husband, George Gradow, is a real estate developer.
4	Her father was a military doctor and later physician.
5	Her first TV appearances were on the syndicated show, Playboy After Dark (1969), where she functioned as beau Hugh M. Hefner's co-host/sidekick.
6	Moved to Los Angeles when she was 16 and found some jobs modeling. Barbi met and started a relationship with Hugh M. Hefner in 1968, when she was only 18 years old. Hef was 42.
7	Is portrayed by Rebecca Herbst in Hefner: Unauthorized (1999)
8	Despite her love liaison with Playboy Magazine's Hugh M. Hefner, Benton never was a Playmate of the Month, though she did appear on some covers and in various pictorials
9	She recorded country and pop albums.
10	Has a son Alexander Benton Gradow (b. August 23, 1986) and a daughter, Ariana Gradow (b. 1988), with husband George Gradow.
11	Father is a doctor in Carmichael, California.
12	At least two spreads in Playboy.
13	(1969-1976) Lived with Hugh M. Hefner

Pictures

Movies

Actress

Title	Year	Status	Character
The Love Boat	1978-1987	TV Series	Kiki Atwood, Spoiled Rich Girl / Barbi Benton / Cathy Somms / ...
Riptide	1986	TV Series	Gina Potter
Murder, She Wrote	1986	TV Series	Nurse Sue Beth
The New Mike Hammer	1984	TV Series	Susan Lancaster
Fox Mystery Theater	1984	TV Series	Caroline Trent
Deathstalker	1983		Codille
Matt Houston	1983	TV Series	Ava
Fantasy Island	1978-1982	TV Series	Courtney / Miss Winslow / Joan Michaels / ...
X-Ray	1981		Susan Jeremy
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo	1981	TV Series	Kitty Rhinestone
CHiPs	1981	TV Series	Sal
Charlie's Angels	1980	TV Series	Toni Green
For the Love of It	1980	TV Movie	Anita
When the Whistle Blows	1980	TV Series	Dixie Lee Griffin
Vega$	1979	TV Series	Holly
Flying High	1979	TV Series	Joan
Sugar Time!	1977-1978	TV Series	Maxx Douglas
McCloud	1975	TV Series	Shannon Forbes
The Third Girl from the Left	1973	TV Movie	Melanie
The Great American Beauty Contest	1973	TV Movie	Miss Iowa
Marcus Welby, M.D.	1972	TV Series	Liz
Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht	1970		Lynn Keefe (as Barbara Benton)

Soundtrack

Title	Year	Status	Character
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo	1981	TV Series performer - 1 episode
The Sonny and Cher Show	1977	TV Series performer - 1 episode
McCloud	1975	TV Series performer - 1 episode

Composer

Title	Year	Status	Character
Schulmädchen '84	1984

Self

Title	Year	Status	Character
Q N' A with Mikki and Shay	2014	TV Series	Herself
America's Book of Secrets	2012	TV Series	Herself
The Girls Next Door	2005-2009	TV Series	Herself - Hef's Former Girlfriend / Herself - Hef's Ex-Girlfriend
The 5th Annual TV Land Awards	2007	TV Special	Herself - Winner ("Entertainers Award")
E! True Hollywood Story	2006	TV Series documentary	Herself
Playboy: Celebrity Centerfolds	2006	TV Movie documentary	Herself
When Playboy Ruled the World	2004	TV Movie documentary	Herself
Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration	2003	TV Movie documentary	Herself
Playboy: Inside the Playboy Mansion	2002	TV Movie documentary	Herself
VH-1 Where Are They Now?	2000	TV Series documentary	Herself
Hugh Hefner: American Playboy Revisited	1998	TV Movie documentary	Herself
Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time	1992	Documentary	Herself
The Starlight Annual Foundation Benefit	1986	TV Movie	Herself
The Annual Friars Club Tribute Presents a Salute to Gene Kelly	1985	TV Movie	Herself
The Stars Salute the U.S. Olympic Team	1984	TV Movie	Herself - Performer
Pete's Place	1983	TV Series	Herself (1983)
Lou Rawls Parade of Stars	1983	TV Series	Herself
Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour	1983	TV Series	Herself
Hee Haw	1972-1983	TV Series	Herself / Herself - Featured Singer
Circus of the Stars #7	1982	TV Special documentary	Herself - Trapeze Artist
Magic with the Stars	1982	TV Movie	Herself
The Alan Thicke Show	1980-1981	TV Series	Herself
The 8th Annual American Music Awards	1981	TV Special	Herself
Circus of the Stars #5	1980	TV Special documentary	Herself
Men Who Rate a 10	1980	TV Special	Herself
Horas doradas	1980	TV Series	Herself
The Hollywood Squares	1978-1980	TV Series	Guest Appearance
The Mike Douglas Show	1975-1980	TV Series	Herself - Singer / Actress / Herself - Ex-Playboy Bunny
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	1974-1980	TV Series	Herself / Herself - Guest
Circus of the Stars #4	1979	TV Special documentary	Herself - Performer
Sha Na Na	1979	TV Series	Herself
Barbi Doll for Christmas	1978	TV Movie	Herself - Host / Performer
America 2-Night	1978	TV Series	Herself
Murder at the Mardi Gras	1978	TV Movie	Herself
The 5th Annual American Music Awards	1978	TV Special	Herself
The Sonny and Cher Show	1977	TV Series	Herself / Various Characters
Dinah!	1976	TV Series	Herself
The Norman Gunston Show	1975	TV Series	Herself
New American Bandstand 1965	1975	TV Series	Herself
Nashville on the Road	1975	TV Series	Herself
The David Frost Show	1970	TV Series	Herself
Treffpunkt Airport	1969	TV Series documentary	Herself
Playboy After Dark	1969	TV Series	Herself

Archive Footage

Title	Year	Status	Character
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel	2009	Documentary	Herself (uncredited)
The Girls Next Door	2005-2006	TV Series	Herself
The Hee Haw Collection, Vol. 5	2006	Video	Herself
Barbarian	2003	Video uncredited
Playboy: The Party Continues	2000	TV Movie documentary	Herself

Awards

Won Awards

Year	Award	Ceremony	Nomination	Movie
2007	Entertainer's Award	TV Land Awards		Hee Haw (1969)