Karen Elaine Morton

California is home to a bevy of beautiful women. From the homegrown beach babes to the hopefuls who move to the Pacific Coast so they could make a name for themselves, Cali is home to a large variety of women. Karen Morton is a blue-eyed blonde who’s been blessed with incredible genes. Coming from a family filled with beautiful women, it was only a matter of time before they caught the attention of Playboy. Karen’s cousin, Elaine Morton, introduced the family to the privileged life of a Playmate when she was made our Miss June 1970. What we did not know at the time was that Elaine’s family included many more attractive women like her little cousin Karen. It was years later when Karen and her 86 year old grandmother, Ma Vern, were shopping at their local grocery store and bumped into our photo coordinator. Her all-natural figure and golden-blonde hair made Karen stand out in the produce aisle in Palmdale, CA like a sore thumb. However, timid Karen wasn’t sold on the idea of testing for the magazine, but Ma Vern was a completely sold on the idea and wasn’t about to let her granddaughter reject this huge opportunity. “Have you called Playboy yet?” would ask a relentless Ma Vern. With her grandmother pushing her to pose for Playboy, Karen finally tested and ran home with glee ready to show off her photos. “Don't show those to your boyfriend. He'll get a hard-on,” bluntly stated Ma Vern to Karen to which she replied, “Please, Ma Vern, you'll embarrass me.” There was no reason to be alarmed or embarrassed. Karen was quickly made our Miss July 1978 and as for her grandmother, she was proud that she could say two of her granddaughters have graced the pages of Playboy as Playmates of the Month. “Elaine used to baby-sit for me. If you think we're good-looking, you should see her daughter. She's the real Playmate in the family,” says our Miss July 1978. “I’ve got a great family. My grandmother’s going to show this to everybody in L.A.” So, why exactly was Karen so apprehensive about accepting an offer to pose for Playboy in the first place? “I’m basically a shy, sensitive person. If I could change one thing about myself, it would be the shyness, to make it easier to talk to people,” blushes our Miss July 1978 who would later play the infamous Jenny in Tommy Tutone’s music video for the song “867-5309”. Shy or not, this is a family made up of beautiful people and we hope to see many more generations of the Morton family in Playboy.