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Her first appearance was as the centerfold in Penthouse magazine, an issue which is now illegal to own or sell.

That same issue contained the nude photos of the first black Miss America, Vanessa Williams, taken while she was in college. When she got famous, the photographer sold them, to her horror.

The photos became a huge story, and she was stripped of her Miss America title. It seemed like the worst thing that could happen to her, but there was a silver lining. Past Miss America's had tried to capitalize on their minor celebrity, with mixed, but generally unsatisfying results as bad singers, talk show standbys, advertising pitchwomen, opening state fairs, etc. Generally the super-wholesome Miss America image limited them greatly.

But the nude photos put Vanessa Williams in a different category. She wasn't the same wholesome Miss America, she was a bad girl. Being black didn't hurt, either, nor did the fact that she had a genuinely great voice, and was beautiful.

So while being Miss America had suppressed most careers, losing the title helped Vanessa Williams escape that image, and launch a highly successful career as both a singer and actor. Ironically, those photos turned out to be the best thing for her career.

She was once asked about that in an interview, and she said while that was technically true, she sure wishes she could have become successful with a different path.

So circling back, that issue of Penthouse that both killed Vanessa Williams' Miss America career, AND simultaneously re-launched it, is now illegal to own or sell, because it contains photos of Tracy Lords when she was just 15 years old.