Kari Kennell

{{short description|American model and actress (born 1964)}} {{Infobox Playboy Playmate  | image = Kari Whitman adjusted.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | name = Kari Kennell | issue = February 1988 | birth_name = Kari Kennell Whitman | birth_place = [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]] | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|6|24|mf=y}} | height = {{height|ft=5|in=5}} | preceded = [[Kimberley Conrad]] | succeeded = [[Susie Owens]] }}

'''Kari Kennell Whitman''' (born June 21, 1964) is an American [[Model (person)|model]] and actress. She was chosen as [[Playboy]]'s [[Playboy Playmate|Playmate of the Month]] in February 1988. She also did mainstream acting as Kari Whitman appearing on ''[[Married... with Children]]'' (1989) in the episode ''976-SHOE '' as Muffy.<ref name=IMDb>{{IMDb name|id=0926154| name = Kari Kennell}}</ref>

==Career== While spending time in Florida, Kennell appeared in two episodes of the [[action drama]] ''[[Miami Vice]]''. After becoming interested in acting, she moved to New York to seek out more roles. Then in 1987 Kennell moved to Los Angeles to further her career and had early parts in television commercials and comedy skits on the ''[[Tonight Show]]''. It was around this time that she became involved with the animal rights organization [[PETA]].<ref name=PBplus>{{cite web|title=Playmate of the Month February 1988 - Kari Kennell|url=http://ma.playboyplus.com/gallery/13271/playmates-1988-2-kari-kennell-0/|website=www.playboyplus.com|publisher=PEI|accessdate=29 November 2014}}{{Dead link|date=March 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

From the mid-1980s and throughout the 1990s, Kennell appeared in a variety of roles in [[television series]], [[TV movies]], and [[feature films]]. Some of these appearances include the action comedies ''[[Beverly Hills Cop II]]'' (1987) and ''[[Men at Work (1990 film)|Men at Work]]'' (1990) and television shows ''[[Baywatch]]'', ''[[In Living Color]]'', ''[[Silk Stalkings]]'', ''[[Nash Bridges]]'', ''[[The X-Files]]''. and an appearance on ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' as the evil Marge Deaver. She also was a designer on the cable series about home remodeling show called ''Dude Room'' in 2004, a precursor to her own design show.<ref name=IMDb/>

In May 2006, Kennell was given her own [[reality television]] show on the WE (Women's Entertainment) Television Network. The series was titled ''Designer To The Stars: Kari Whitman'' and featured her redesigning rooms within celebrity homes. The series aired in March 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/designer-stars-kari/286551|title=Designer to the Stars: Kari Whitman}}</ref>

==Advocacy== A staunch animal rights supporter, Kennell protested the [[National Hot Dog and Sausage Council]]'s Annual Hot Dog Lunch on Capitol Hill, on Wednesday, July 21, 2004. Representing [[PETA]], and wearing plastic lettuce-leaf bikinis, Kennell and fellow ''Playboy'' Playmate [[Lauren Anderson (model)|Lauren Anderson]] (Miss July 2002) sold vegetable hot dogs to members of Congress outside the [[Rayburn Office Building]] in [[Washington D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=4754 PETA Press Release], July 20, 2004</ref> The courtyard inside the building was the location for the 2004 Hot Dog Lunch, which was sponsored by the [[American Meat Institute]] and the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. The annual luncheon is a celebration of "National Hot Dog Month", which is the month of July.

==Personal life== Kennell was born in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]]. She spent her early years going back and forth between the Rockies and [[Dunedin, Florida]].<ref name=PBplus/> Kari founded [https://kariwhitmaninteriors.com/about-kari-whitman/ Kari Whitman Interiors] in 1994 as a design build firm specializing in high-end residential interior design.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

<br /> {{commons category|Kari Whitman}} * {{playmate|kari-kennell|Kari Kennell}} * {{IMDb name|id=0926154| name = Kari Kennell}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennell, Kari}} [[Category:1964 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:Actresses from Colorado Springs, Colorado]] [[Category:1980s Playboy Playmates]] [[Category:Actresses from Colorado]] [[Category:20th-century American actresses]] [[Category:21st-century American women]]