Terri Welles

About Terri Welles

Terri Welles is an American model who achieved prominence as a nude model for Playboy magazine. She was selected as Playmate of the Month for December 1980 and later named Playmate of the Year for 1981. A native of Santa Monica, California, Welles initially graced the May 1980 cover of Playboy dressed as a flight attendant, accompanying an editorial feature about airline stewardesses. At that time, Welles worked as a stewardess for United Airlines. Following this initial appearance, she was featured in the December 1980 centerfold and subsequently earned the Playmate of the Year designation for 1981. Richard Fegley served as the photographer for her original pictorial spread. In 1981, Welles married professional ice hockey player Charlie Simmer of the National Hockey League. The marriage ended in divorce in 1986. She is the mother of one daughter. During 1997, Welles launched an internet business focused on selling photographs of herself. Her website identified her as a former Playboy model and Playmate of the Year. Playboy Enterprises filed a lawsuit against Welles in 1998, asserting ownership of exclusive commercial rights to the trademark terms "Playboy" and "Playmate of the Year." The legal case, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Welles, resulted in a determination that essentially all of Welles' uses of these terms qualified as nominative uses and therefore did not constitute infringement. Welles ceased operation of her website on October 31, 2006, announcing that the experience had been enjoyable. Her image also appeared as Playmate of the Month in various international editions of Playboy across multiple countries and years.