Dorothy Stratten was a Canadian model who skyrocketed to fame after posing for ‘Playboy’ in the late 1970s. Sweet, naive Dorothy was groomed by a much-older Paul Snider when she was just a teenager, when he spotted her working at Dairy Queen. Paul, a local pimp, showered her with expensive gifts and dinners, and even accompanied her to prom — when she was 26. When she turned 18, he convinced her to pose nude and send the pics to ‘Playboy’ for contest to find their 25th anniversary issue centerfold. Hugh Hefner and ‘Playboy’ were smitten with Dorothy, and while she didn’t win, she posed for the magazine many times. She brought manipulative Paul with her to LA, marrying him in 1979, despite Hugh and others trying to tell her it was a bad idea. Soon, she was being offered film roles, and it was clear she was a star on the rise. She later met director Peter Bogdanovich while working on a film, and they fell in love. Paul raped and killed her, then himself, when she came over to his house to negotiate their divorce papers. To see photos of beautiful Dorothy, scroll through this gallery.
