Karen McDougal (born March 23, 1971) is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998. In 2001, the readers of Playboy voted McDougal “No. 2 Sexiest Playmate of the 1990s.

hMcDougal taught pre-kindergarten before winning a swimwear competition and beginning her career as a glamour, promotional, and swimsuit model. Since her appearances in Playboy, she has extended her career into a wide variety of appearances in mainstream media, including other magazine modeling, television commercials, and minor acting, with mixed success.

She has been a successful fitness model, with multiple magazine appearances including being the first woman to appear on the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine. She starred in The Arena, a direct-to-video film, and inspired the creation of a fantasy art statuette and a doll. As of 2007, she is pursuing work as a television host.

McDougal is a fitness enthusiast, since childhood ballet study and high school sports, and still noted for ability to perform the straddle split in modeling sessions. She is an avid motorcycle and car collector. Since her Playmate days, she has maintained a largely private social life, though in 2007 the paparazzi reported her dating actor Bruce Willis.