Star Stowe

Star Stowe Bio

March 19, 1956 - March 16, 1997 / Pisces / Age 40

Star Stowe was an American-born Playboy model, glamour model, and exotic dancer. She was born as Ellen Louise Stowe on March 19, 1956 in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Her zodiac sign is Pisces.

Star Stowe made history as Playboy's Playmate of the Month in February 1977, earning the coveted title at the age of 20. Star entered her twenties with fearless confidence and natural grace, embodying the vibrant energy of a new generation of glamour.

Star Stowe had humble natural breasts, soulful brown eyes, and luminous blond hair. With a sensually shaped 32-21-33 frame, she's a true embodiment of Playboy allure.

Born with a love of the skies and a spirit too wild to cage, Star claimed her nickname long before the cameras found her. It was Gene Simmons, the KISS frontman she famously dated, who sent her photos to Playboy. The magazine saw in her what the world soon would: a woman whose beauty was as fierce as it was free. Shot by legendary lensman Pompeo Posar, Star's centerfold was electric - her body draped over a Rickenbacker bass guitar, her eyes daring readers to look deeper. She became the first Playmate to feature a visible tattoo - a defiant nod to individuality in a time of conformity.

Off the page, Star lived with the same intensity. She traveled in the orbit of rockstars, appeared in promotional materials for KISS, and later married Peter Maligo, with whom she had a son. But fame fades, and life after Playboy was far from the dream. After moving to Fort Lauderdale in 1986, Star struggled to hold onto the spotlight. Exotic dancing gave way to darker streets - marked by addiction, broken love, and the grinding weight of survival.

She fought to rise again, even managing to walk away from the haze of drugs and prostitution for a time. But old ghosts have sharp teeth. In August 1996, following a breakup, she slipped back into the shadows. On March 16, 1997, just shy of her 41st birthday, Star Stowe was found murdered, strangled and abandoned behind a Coral Springs shopping plaza. Her death remains unsolved, haunting the headlines as part of a possible serial pattern targeting vulnerable women.

But for those who remember her best - the readers, the fans, the friends - Star Stowe was more than tragedy. She was a woman of wild beauty and raw emotion, someone who carved her own path even when it led into the dark. She gave us one of Playboy's most iconic images. She burned fast, she burned bright, and for a brief, brilliant moment, she was the most unforgettable Star in the sky.