Former Playmate Of The Year Ended Up Blacklisted By Disney After Going From Princess To Playboy Model

Former Playboy model Kara Monaco went from Disney princess to Playmate of the Year in a matter of a few years. Believe it or not, there was a time when such a journey to a certain level of fame was possible.

For her troubles, the now 40-year-old, was blacklisted by her former employer. Little did they know that once she reached Playmate of the Year status in 2006 she wasn't going to be looking for a job as a Disney World princess.

Playmate of the Year 2006 Kara Monaco celebrates at Playboy's 60th Anniversary special event in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Playboy)

Kara was off to travel the world with the magazine then hit the reality TV circuit. She appeared on The Girls Next Door, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Big Brother.

During an appearance on the Girls Next Level podcast, hosted by a couple of Hugh Hefner's former girlfriends, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt, she discussed how she went from a Disney princess to the cover of Playboy.

The Florida native moved to Orlando as a teenager from Lakeland and ended up working at Disney World, where she was a princess as well as several other characters. After putting in four years with the company she got into bartending and modeling.

It was while she was bartending that she was discovered. A friend of hers submitted her to Playboy's "America's sexiest bartender" search in 2004.

Model Kara Monaco attends the Raising the Stakes for Cerebral Palsy Celebrity Poker Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

Kara Monaco Has A Friend To Thank For Her Ride From Disney Princess To Playboy Model

"I was bartending, downtown Orlando, and my girlfriend who worked with me wanted to do Playboy more than anything in the whole world, but they just didn't ever choose her to shoot," Kara said.

"She would try to submit, and she like, 'You have this look they like.' So she actually submitted my photos, without me knowing, and then they called me and they were like, 'We want you to shoot.'"

After initially being hesitant about accepting the opportunity, Kara did the shoot and won the America's sexiest bartender contest. From there she was asked to do a shoot to become a Playmate.

In June 2005, she was chosen as the Playmate of the Month. Then found herself on the cover the following year as Playboy's 2006 Playmate of the Year.

Kara's family and friends were taken aback by her nude photo shoots. She admitted, "I'd say they were shocked because for me…I'm pretty conservative and shy so it was so far out of my comfort zone so I think most people that knew me were just really shocked but everybody was really supportive."

The princess theme of her Playmate of the Year shoot didn't sit well with her former employer. They wanted nothing to do with Playboy and she ended up being blacklisted.

"Disney did not take well to it obviously, they were not happy. I think they even called the rep for the Magic Kingdom and wanted him to comment and he was like 'no comment,'" Kara said.

"Some of my friends that I worked with at Disney were like 'Oh you're definitely blacklisted' and I'm like 'Oh well.'"

There Aren't Many With A Story Like This One

Oh well, indeed. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. In this case, you have to piss off a few higher ups at Disney in order to land the Playmate of the Year. I'd say it was worth it.

Talk about a different time. It wasn't that long ago, but contest winning bartenders aren't finding themselves naked in one of the biggest magazines and then making the rounds on reality TV anymore.

Kara is not a married mom who makes a living as an event planner in Florida. Along with the title of 2006 Playmate of the Year, which they can't take away from her, she made "lifelong friendships" during her time with Playboy.

That's quite the ride from Disney princess to bartender to Playmate of the Year.