Kelly was Playmate of the Month for October 1981. Her pictorial was titled Toughing It.
Kelly was born Kelly Ann Tough on Oct. 16, 1961, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. According to “The Playmate Book: Five Decades of Centerfolds,” Kelly was urged to pose for Playboy by high school friend Dorothy Stratten. She had been approached by Playboy scout Ken Honey while working at a pub.
In a 2021 interview with Canadian broadcaster Global News, Kelly said she had a troubled childhood, running away at times and even sleeping outside. “If it wasn’t for (Hugh Hefner), I think I would have gone down a really dark road and probably wouldn’t have made it into my 20s,” she said.
At Playboy Mansion West, Sondra Theodore became her best friend and she met celebrities like Robin Williams, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Steven Martin, Kris Kristofferson and James Caan.
Kelly was a member of the Singing Playmates musical group, which had been formed by Sondra. Though, according to a story on playboy.com, she didn’t make the group on her first audition – or her second, when John Belushi escorted her to the Playboy Club in a limo. Kelly says she finally made the group after giving Sondra and Hugh Hefner a tape of herself performing a song she’d written about an ex-boyfriend.
Following her Playmate of the Month pictorial, Kelly was among the Playmates featured in the pictorial The First Playmate Play-Offs in March 1983 and was featured on the cover of the same issue. She also appears in several Playboy videos.
Following her stint with Playboy, Kelly returned home. She told Global News that drugs and drug dealers became a big part of her life. She eventually beat her drug habit.
Kelly had two children. She was most recently living in British Columbia, where she was a self-taught artist.
Digital | Video | Later in life
Playboy appearances:
- Playmate of the Month pictorial, Toughing It, October 1981
- The World of Playboy, November 1981
- And the Playmates Sing, December 1981
- Dear Playboy, January 1982
- Playboy’s Playmate Review, January 1982
- Playmates’ Progress, January 1982
- Playboy Video, December 1982
- The First Playmate Play-Offs, March 1983
- The World of Playboy, January 1988
- The Singing Playmates, Spring 2019
Covers:
NSS:
- Book of Lingerie, 1984
- Book of Lingerie, March 1988
- Book of Lingerie, January-February 1989
- Book of Lingerie, March-April 1989
- Book of Lingerie, July-August 1990
- Book of Lingerie, July-August 1996
- Celebrating Centerfolds Vol. 1, 1998
- Girls of Summer, 1986
- Girls of Summer, 1989
- Girls of Winter, 1984
- Girls of Winter, 1988
- Playmates: The Second 15 Years, 1984
- Pocket Playmates 3, 1996
- Sporting Women, 1986
- Twenty-One Playmates Centerfold Collection, 1996
- Wet & Wild Women, 1987
- Women of Television, 1984
Foreign:
- Australian edition pictorial, U.S. Playmate Review, March 1982
- Brazilian edition feature, Converse com as Coelhinhas, July 1982
- Italian edition pictorial, Il Mondo di Playboy, May 1983
- Italian edition Playmate of the Month pictorial, A Tempo di Rock, March 1984
- Japanese edition Playmate of the Month pictorial, Kelly Tough, November 1981
- Japanese 1982 Playmate Calendar
- Japanese NSS Playmates Collection 2, 1982
- Japanese edition Mandala Calendar, January 1982
- Japanese edition cover, April 1983
- Japanese edition pictorial, The First Playmate Play-Offs, April 1983
- Japanese edition pictorial, All the Playmates Go Marching On!, February 1987
- Mexican edition Playmate of the Month pictorial, January 1982
- Spanish edition Playmate of the Month pictorial, Una Chica Dura, March 1982
Other publications:
- The Playmate Book: Five Decades of Centerfolds, 1996
- Vancouver magazine, May 1983
Television:
- The George Burns (Early) Early, Early Christmas Special, with the Singing Playmates (1981)
- The Playboy Channel show, Playmate Playoff Semis – Green vs. Purple (1982)
- The Global News, Aug. 8, 2021
Playboy videos:
- Playboy Video Playmate Review (1983)
- Playboy’s 35 Years of Playmates (1988)
- Playmates at Play (1990)
- Playboy Video Centerfold: Fawna MacLaren (1991)
- 21 Playmates Centerfold Collection (1996)