Star Stowe

Star Stowe (born Ellen Louise Stowe; 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.

Star Stowe
Playboy centerfold appearance
February 1977
Preceded bySusan Kiger
Succeeded byNicki Thomas
Personal details
BornEllen Louise Stowe
(1956-03-19)March 19, 1956
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedMarch 16, 1997(1997-03-16) (aged 40)[1]
Coral Springs, Florida, U.S.
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1]

Biography

Stowe was born Ellen Louise Stowe 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]

Whilst working in the Los Angeles strip club, she was spotted by a scout for Playboy, and asked to model for the magazine. 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.[3] 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] The dancing didn't work out and 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 and Stowe went back to her former life on the streets.[5]

Murder

Stowe was last seen working the streets in her old neighborhood between 3pm and 5pm on March 16, 1997. Her body was later found strangled and partially clothed. It was three days before her 41st birthday. Police believe that she was picked up, killed and then dumped sometime after 5pm on the 16th.[3]

Police linked the murder to that of Sandra Kay Walters, a prostitute who had been strangled in Fort Lauderdale a few weeks earlier on February 25.[3] When Tammy Strunk was found murdered in November 1997 police believed the deaths might be the work of a serial killer.[7] This theory was strengthened when several other prostitutes in the area were subsequently strangled and dumped in a similar manner.[8] Her murder remains unsolved.[9]

See also
  • List of people in Playboy 1970-1979

References
  1. "Playmate data". Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  2. "star stowe". www.bunnybass.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  3. Pazdera, Donna (1997-03-23). "Star's Fall a Dark Tale After World of Glamour". Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
  4. "Images of murdered Playboy model Star Stowe". www.pulpinternational.com. Pulp International. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  5. "Anna Nicole Smith Wasn't First Playboy Pinup to Die Tragically". Fox News. February 13, 2007. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  6. "Playboy Playmate Star Stowe Stock Photos and Pictures". www.gettyimages.co.uk. Getty Images. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  7. "Investigators Consider Link in 3 Slayings". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 1997-12-04. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012.
  8. Friedberg, Ardy; O'Boye, Shannon (10 August 2000). "ANOTHER WOMAN'S BODY LEFT BY A ROAD". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  9. "Conejitas Playboy con destinos más truculentos - Star Stowe. La muerte de la pl..." ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
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