Barbi Benton was born Barbara Klein on January 28, 1950, in New York City. When she was 2 years old, Benton's family moved to Sacramento, California, where her father was stationed as a military doctor. After graduating from Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, Benton headed to Los Angeles to begin a career in modeling.

Despite her association with Playboy, and especially its founder, Benton has never actually been featured as a Playmate of the Month centerfold in Playboy magazine, although she has graced the cover and appeared in various pictorials. In 2006, Benton's life came full-circle when she met Hefner's three main live-in bunnies during a guest appearance on the Playboy mansion reality-TV-show, The Girls Next Door.

Benton's relationship with Hefner ended when it became apparent to her that Hefner was not interested in having children. Benton married real estate developer, George Gradow, in 1979 and the couple went on to have two children, Ariana and Alexander, both now in their late teens.

In addition to being Hefner's main squeeze, Benton was also an actress throughout the 70s, appearing in such films as Deathstalker in 1983, The Naughty Cheerleader in 1970, and Hospital Massacre. On the small screen, Benton appeared regularly in Hee Haw, as well as the comedy series Sugar Time! in the late 70s.

In 1975, Benton released the album "Brass Buckles", which landed in the top five on Billboard's country singles chart. She went on to record seven more albums throughout the decade, which also featured her own song compositions and piano playing. Benton also collaborated with Neil Sedaka, who co-wrote a song on one of her earlier albums.

These days, Benton works as an interior designer, dividing her time between homes in Aspen, Colorado; and Oahu, Hawaii. Despite being a former bunny, Benton has had some harsh words to say about other animals, once stating, "I believe that mink are raised for being turned into fur coats and if we didn't wear fur coats those little animals would never have been born. So is it better not to have been born or to have lived for a year or two to have been turned into a fur coat? I don't know".