Katie Cleary Bio
Katie Cleary is an American Actress and model. She was born on September 21, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois. She appeared in Playboy in January 2003 at 21, adding the feature to her public career. Her appearance came in the 2000s, as Playboy's print tradition began to share space with an expanding online presence.
Cleary has enhanced breasts, amber eyes and black hair. Her measurements are 34-25-35.
Katie Cleary first reached a national audience during the inaugural season of “America’s Next Top Model.” Still attending college when she joined the competition, she brought a polished glamour style to a program that was only beginning to define the reality-television modeling formula. Although her time on the series was brief, the exposure introduced her to viewers and helped open the door to a wider entertainment career.
Her connection with Playboy predated that television breakthrough, with a celebrity appearance in January 2003. The feature reflected the glossy confidence of her early modeling work and placed her within the magazine’s expanding interest in women emerging through reality television and popular entertainment. Rather than limiting her options, the appearance became one part of a career that would move between print campaigns, game shows, television, and film.
Cleary gained her greatest mainstream visibility as briefcase model number 11 on NBC’s “Deal or No Deal.” She remained with the program for more than four years, becoming one of the familiar faces surrounding host Howie Mandel during the show’s enormously successful original run. Her visibility through the series also brought broader media recognition and placed her among the game-show models celebrated during the peak of mid-2000s television glamour.
She also explored screen acting through appearances in films including “The Break-Up,” “The Lake House,” and “Iron Man 2,” along with television projects such as “Chuck” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” These parts allowed her to move beyond unscripted television and commercial modeling, even when the roles themselves were modest. Her ease in front of the camera remained the connecting thread, whether she was appearing in a studio game show, a fashion shoot, or a major Hollywood production.
Cleary later redirected much of her public energy toward animal welfare and environmental advocacy. She founded Peace 4 Animals in 2012 and expanded her work into filmmaking and media projects focused on wildlife protection. This evolution gave her career a deeper purpose beyond the glamour that first introduced her to audiences. From Playboy and “America’s Next Top Model” to “Deal or No Deal,” Hollywood films, and international animal advocacy, Katie Cleary developed a public identity shaped not only by visibility, but by a growing determination to use it for meaningful change.
