Connie Kreski (September 19, 1946 – March 21, 1995) was born Constance Joanne Kornacki. She was an American model and actress. In January 1968, Kreski posed in the centerfold as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month. She subsequently won Playmate of the Year honors for 1969. She was also Miss January 1969 in the Playboy calendar for that year and featured again in the 1970 calendar. Kreski briefly worked as a psychiatric care assistant at a hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan before being discovered at a University of Michigan football game by a Playboy scout [1].
In Europe, Kreski also got a name for being photographed by Frank Habicht. This German photographer memorably recorded Swinging London, including the time Kreski lived there.
Personal life
Los Angeles Times writer Joyce Haber mentioned Kreski in a newspaper column just days after the murder of Sharon Tate by followers of Charles Manson. Kreski was a member of the murdered actress's social circle, and considered Sharon Tate, who was quite similar in physical appearance, a very close friend. Kreski was among those invited to the mansion Tate shared with her husband, director Roman Polanski, on the fatal night of August 9, 1969. Kreski penned an article for the Detroit Free Press discussing her immediate reaction to the death of Tate roughly a week after the incident. [2]
Death
Kreski died of a blocked carotid artery on March 21, 1995, in Beverly Hills, California.