Tamara Kapitas
Penthouse Pet of the Month, January 1980

Tamara Kapitas Bio

February 17, 1958 / Aquarius / Age 68

Tamara Kapitas is a British-born Penthouse model, musician, and actress, born Carole Raphaelle Davis on February 17, 1958 in London, United Kingdom. Throughout her modeling career, she has also appeared under the names Carole Davis, each marking a distinct chapter in her evolving on-camera persona.

Tamara Kapitas was crowned Penthouse Pet of the Month in January 1980, stepping into the spotlight at just 21 years old. With her statuesque 37-24-36 figure, charming brown eyes, silky black hair, and natural breasts, Tamara carries a new sense of confidence, blending youthful softness with a teasing, self-assured edge.

Tamara Kapitas entered Penthouse at the dawn of a new decade with cosmopolitan polish and unmistakable ambition.

Born to a French mother and an American father, she grew up across England, Scotland, Hawaii, France, Italy, and Thailand before settling in New York City as a teenager. Trilingual and academically driven, she studied Chinese Studies and Political Science at the City University of New York, then honed her craft at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. Beauty and intellect were never separate lanes for her — they moved in tandem.

Under the name Tamara, she modeled not only for Penthouse but also for Playboy, while building a career as a lingerie and swimwear model for brands such as La Perla and Playtex. Her image graced hundreds of romance novel covers, and she appeared in commercials for Pepsi and Miller Beer, already demonstrating the crossover appeal that would define her career.

Hollywood followed naturally. Her first feature film role came in the 1981 horror sequel Piranha II, and she went on to appear in The Flamingo Kid before landing her most recognized role as Roxie Shield in the cult comedy Mannequin. Through the 1990s, she continued acting in films such as The Shrimp on the Barbie and If Looks Could Kill, alongside guest appearances on television hits including The A-Team, Star Trek: Voyager, Sex and the City, and Angel.

But Tamara — or rather, Carole Davis — refused to be defined by one medium. In 1989, she signed with Warner Brothers Records as a singer-songwriter. Her album Heart of Gold was produced by Nile Rodgers, and her single Serious Money became a dance hit, its video reaching number one on BET. She toured internationally and even wrote the song Slow Love for Prince’s Grammy-winning album Sign O’ the Times, later recording her own version. Subsequent recording contracts with Atlantic Records and Sony France solidified her status as a global artist.

Writing became another frontier. Her script Amnesia of the Heart was purchased by DreamWorks, and she co-wrote animated content for Klasky-Scupo. As a novelist, she authored The Diary of Jinky, Dog of a Hollywood Wife, a critically acclaimed satire told from the perspective of a condemned dog navigating Hollywood excess. She also became an investigative journalist and columnist focused on animal welfare, contributing to numerous publications and appearing on CNN as an advocate.

Today, she serves as West Coast Director of the Companion Animal Protection Society, leading investigations into puppy mills and championing animal rights causes in Los Angeles. The glamour model who once posed for Penthouse transformed into an activist, writer, and cultural voice — proof that reinvention can be as compelling as any spotlight.

Her January 1980 Penthouse pictorial captured only the beginning: statuesque, worldly, and already brimming with momentum. What followed was a career that defied categories — film, music, literature, advocacy — each chapter expanding the story.