Claudia Jennings
Mary Eileen Chesterton (December 20, 1949 – October 3, 1979), known professionally as Claudia Jennings, was an American actress and model. Jennings was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for November 1969, later becoming Playmate of the Year for 1970. She subsequently pursued a career in acting, becoming known as the "Queen of the B movies".
Also recorded as Mimi Cherston · Mary Eileen Chesterton
Claudia Jennings

CBS · WorthPoint · Public domain
- Name
- Claudia Jennings
- Birth Name
- Mary Eileen Chesterton
- Birthplace
- Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
- Born
- 20 December 1949
- Died
- 3 October 1979
- Place of death
- Malibu, California, U.S.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- actress · model · playboy playmate
- Honours
- Playboy Playmate of the Month · Playboy Playmate of the Year
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Mary Eileen Chesterton (December 20, 1949 – October 3, 1979), known professionally as Claudia Jennings, was an American actress and model. Jennings was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for November 1969, later becoming Playmate of the Year for 1970. She subsequently pursued a career in acting, becoming known as the "Queen of the B movies".
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Authority files
wikidata · Q454644 · wikipedia · Claudia Jennings
In this article
Biography
Biography
She died in an automobile accident at age 29 in 1979.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Claudia Jennings • Issue — November 1969 • Birth Name — Mary Eileen Chesterton • Birthplace — Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. • Born — 20 December 1949 • Died — 3 October 1979 • Place of death — Malibu, California, U.S. • Preceded — Jean Bell • Succeeded — Gloria Root • Pmoy Year — 1970 • Pmoy Preceded — Connie Kreski • Pmoy Succeeded — Sharon Clark
Career
Career
Mary Eileen Chesterton (known as "Mimi" to friends and family) was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1949, later moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then Richmond, Indiana. When her family moved from Richmond to Evanston, Illinois, as a result of her father becoming the advertising director with Skilsaw, she transferred at the start of her sophomore year to Evanston Township High School (ETHS) where she graduated in 1968. She was featured in a silent, plotless movie titled after her nickname which was shot on Super 8 film by fellow ETHS classmate Todd McCarthy. She worked as a receptionist at Playboy and then posed for the magazine in 1969. She adopted the name Claudia Jennings because she did not want to embarrass her family and that she thought "Mimi" sounded too girlish. Her original pictorial was photographed by Pompeo Posar. She was Playmate of the Year in 1970, and was awarded a pink Mercury Capri. After her appearances in Playboy, Jennings became an actress in exploitation movies and in television. In 1973, she had a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch episode titled "Adios, Johnny Bravo". Jennings was widely rumored to be in line for the role as Kate Jackson's replacement on the hit television show Charlie's Angels, but the role was awarded to Shelley Hack.
Death
Death
On October 3, 1979, Jennings died in a head-on automobile collision on the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California, when her VW convertible drifted across the center line into the path of an oncoming pickup truck. She was 29. Although she had struggled with a cocaine addiction in the past, an autopsy found no traces of drugs or alcohol in her system. Investigators concluded that the circumstances of the crash were consistent with her falling asleep at the wheel. Jennings was featured in a 2000 episode of E! True Hollywood Story in which several of her friends and acquaintances were interviewed. The episode was made without the cooperation of her family, who considered the show too "tabloid" in style.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Episode • 1971 — Ironside — Maralyn — "The Professionals" • 1973 — Barnaby Jones — Denise Frazer — "To Denise, with Love and Murder" • The — Tami Cutler — "Adios, Johnny Bravo" • 1974 — The — Judith Grinnell — "Deadly Ambition" • Cannon — Leona Wilson / Susan Williams — "Bobby Loved Me", "Lady in Red" • The — Peggy — "The Truck Murders" • 1975 — Movin' On — Ann — "Ransom" • Caribe — Jean Benedict — "School for Killers" • 1976 — The — Evie — "Underground" • 1978 — Lucan — Debbie Kern — "Nightmare" • 1979 — 240-Robert — Barbara Rice — "Bank Job"
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the headings Mimi Cherston and Mary Eileen Chesterton. Her recorded language was English.
Identity
Identity
Claudia Jennings is recorded with the occupation Playboy Playmate. Recorded with the occupation television actor. Recorded as actress, model and playboy playmate.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1979
Claudia Jennings died on 3 October 1979.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Claudia Jennings was born at Evanston.
Birthplace
Claudia Jennings died at Malibu.
Deathplace
Evanston.
Birth place
Malibu.
Death place
Film
• Year — Title — Role • 1971 — Jud — Sunny • The — Darlene • 1972 — Trampa mortal • The Stepmother — Rita • Unholy Rollers — Karen Walker • 1973 — Group Marriage — Elaine • 40 Carats — Gabriella • 1974 — Willy & Scratch — Jennifer • Truck Stop Women — Rose • The — Allison • Gator Bait — Desiree Thibodeau • 1976 — The — Mrs. Peters • Sisters of Death — Judy • The — Candy Morgan • 1977 — Moonshine County Express — Betty Hammer • 1978 — Deathsport — Deneer • 1979 — Fast Company — Sammy
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Playmate data.
- 2.'B' movie queen dies in crash, Chicago Tribune, October 4, 1979
- 3.Williams, Albert. "But She Was A Cheerleader," Reader (Chicago, IL), September 21, 2000. Retrieved September 2, 2021
- 4.CC Easter Bunny Special: The Cars Of The Playboy Bunnies Of The Year 1964 – 1988, Curbside Classic, March 27 2016
- 5.Brode, Douglas. Boys and Toys: Ultimate Action-Adventure Movies. Citadel Press. 2003. 9780806523811.
- 6.Doviak, Scott Von. Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema. McFarland. 2015. 9780786482122.
- 7.Owen Keehnen, Celluloid Caket Case 24: Claudia Jennings, rocksandrazors.com
- 8.Albert Williams, But She Was A Cheerleader, Chicago Reader, September 21, 2000
- 9.Claudia Jennings. IMDb.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Claudia Jennings –The Authorized Biography. Midnight Marquee Publishing, 2018, by Eric Jonathan Karell
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,589 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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