Angel Boris

With a name like Angel, you might expect something sweet and innocent. Angel Boris is sweet, but the innocence is only half the story. Born Angel Lynn Boris on 2 August 1974 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she grew up in the sunshine state with a background she describes as an exotic mix of Spanish, Irish, English and Italian, and you can see every bit of that blend in her warm, striking features.

Her big break came in 1994, when she entered the Venus Swimwear model search. Playboy photographer David Chan spotted her among the contestants and knew immediately that a swimsuit was far too much clothing for a woman like her. After an early pictorial alongside the Hawaiian Tropic girls, she was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for July 1996, a perfect summer centrefold shot by the legendary Richard Fegley.

Her pictures radiate a sultry, sun-soaked heat. Angel has a way of looking straight through the camera, half smiling, half daring you, while her bronzed skin glows against silk sheets and tropical light. She is equally convincing as the playful girl at the beach and the seductress stretched out in lace, and Playboy kept inviting her back for one Special Edition after another.

Television soon wanted a piece of her too. She played Emma Bennett in five episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210, spent about six months on the soap opera General Hospital, guest-starred on The King of Queens and appeared in the thriller The Still Life. Playmate fans also cheered her on as she took second place in a Playmate edition of the reality show Fear Factor, proving the angel had nerves of steel.

Whether you remember her from the July 1996 issue or from prime-time TV, this gallery is a reminder of why Playboy fell for her at first sight: a Florida beauty with a heavenly name and a devilishly sexy smile.

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