Karen Pini

Karen Jo Pini (born 30 July 1957)[1] was the first runner up at the 1976 Miss World pageant held in London, United Kingdom and was the nude centerfold in the first Australian edition of Playboy magazine in February 1979. Pini also co-hosted the weekly televised New South Wales lotto draw for twelve years.

Karen Pini
Born
Karen Jo Pini

(1957-07-30) 30 July 1957
Perth, Western Australia
Occupation
  • Model
  • actress
  • television presenter
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Spouse(s)Stephen Fitzsimmons (m. 1980)(divorced)
Garry Carpenter
AwardsMiss West Coast, 1976
Miss Australasia Beachgirl, 1976
1st R/U Miss World, 1976
Websitewww.karenpini.com.au

Modelling

In 1976 Pini entered her first beauty pageant, winning the title of Miss West Coast.[2] As a result, she automatically qualified for the Miss Australasia Beachgirl competition, which was held in Perth in March that year. Pini won that title,[3] qualifying her to enter the Quest of Quests pageant, a competition to select the Australian entrants for the Miss Universe and Miss World contests. She was selected as the Miss World representative for Australia and Australia's Golden Dream Girl.[4] In November she appeared at the 1976 Miss World pageant held at Royal Albert Hall in London, where she was chosen as first runner up[2] to the winner Cindy Breakspeare from Jamaica.[5]

After the Miss World Contest she toured England and Scotland calling games of bingo.[2] Pini also appeared as a topless "Page 3 girl" in The Sun newspaper and was the cover model for the December 1977 US edition of Penthouse magazine.[6] She was photographed in France[2] by Patrick Lichfield[7] for the 1979 Unipart calendar.[8][9] In 1978 she returned to Australia and was selected as the inaugural Australian Playmate of the Month, appearing in the first Australian edition of Playboy magazine,[10][11][12] which was issued in February 1979.[13]

Television

On 5 November 1979 Pini made her first television appearance on Channel Nine, hosting the weekly New South Wales Lotto draw with Mike Walsh,[14][15] a role she held for twelve years.[2][16] Between 1979 and 1982 she appeared in the Australian soap opera The Young Doctors,[2][17] in the role as Nurse Sherry Andrews.[18][19] The Young Doctors was Australia's first medical drama and followed the lives of the doctors, nurses, administrators, and patients of the fictitious Albert Memorial Hospital. It screened on the Nine Network for 1,396 episodes (from 1976 until 1983) making it one of Australia's longest-running television drama series.[20] She also made several appearances on The Paul Hogan Show,[2][12][21] a popular Australian comedy show that aired on Australian television from 1973 until 1984, starring Paul Hogan.[22]

Personal

On 3 December 1980 Pini married Stephen Fitzsimmons, a real estate executive, in Bunbury.[23][24][25] Fitzsimmons was also Pini's second cousin.[25] She is currently married to Garry Carpenter and resides in Camden Haven, New South Wales.[2]

Filmography
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1979–91 Go Lotto Herself Co-host with Brian Bury on weekly NSW Lotto Draw
1979–82 The Young Doctors Nurse Sherry Andrews
1980 The Paul Hogan Show Various Appeared in various comedy sketches
1987–88 Home Shopping Show Herself Co-host with Brian Bury on weekly home shopping programme[26]
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References
  1. "You wanted to know with Kevin Schluter". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 26 November 1980. p. 178 Supplement: Free Your TV magazine. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  2. Tisdell, Lisa (23 October 2013). "Karen Pini finds her Home in the Haven". Port Macquarie News. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  3. "In Brief". Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 10 March 1976. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  4. "Karen aims for the top". The Age. 24 September 1976. p. 7. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  5. "Islanders win World". The Southeast Missourian. 19 November 1976. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  6. "Penthouse Magazine". December 1977. ISSN 0090-2020.
  7. "Patrick Lichfield: nudes exhibition opens in London". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  8. "Lichfield photos for new calendar". BBC News. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  9. Lichfield, Patrick (1988). The Most Beautiful Women. Crescent Books. p. 31. ISBN 978-0517423233.
  10. Day, Mark (19 March 2012). "How a Woman's Touch Was on the Mark". The Australian. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  11. Robotham, Julie (21 December 2012). "Men's fantasies don't handle curves like they used to". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  12. "1979: April 28 – May 4". Television.au. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  13. Playboy (Australian Ed.). February 1979. ISSN 0156-8892.
  14. "NSW Lotteries – Our History". NSW Lotteries. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  15. Powerhouse Museum. "Lotto Ball Drawing Machine". Powerhouse Museum, Australia. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  16. "How to Make Hay with Corn and Pizza". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 29 April 1981. p. 147 Section: TV World. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  17. "Television Celebrating adoration of the Shekel". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 9 November 1979. p. 19. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  18. Gray, Darren (2012). Why Not Cast An Aussie?: The Story of Darren Gray Agent to Australian Actors. Trafford Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 9781466916364.
  19. "Go Health!". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 2 September 1981. p. 147. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  20. "'The Young Doctor Australia's longest running serial". Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 23 June 1982. p. 4. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  21. "In his First TV Special of the '80s: Hoges goes it alone with gusto". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 30 April 1980. p. 29. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  22. "The Paul Hogan Show". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  23. "Karen Pini Wed". Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 6 December 1980. p. 3. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  24. "What Marriage means to Karen Pini". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 3 November 1982. p. 49. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  25. "Karen's Honeymoon Paradise". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 11 March 1981. p. 132 Section: TV World. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  26. Eastway, Jocelyn (17 January 1988). "Home Shopping Denies the Chop". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
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