At the age of 16, she began to model. Following high school, she attended UCLA, and at age 18 took a job with Playboy to appear on their entertainment show Playboy After Dark. She initially started as an extra on the show, but after host Hugh Hefner fell in love with Benton, her role was quickly elevated to co-host. After recording two episodes, Hefner asked the young co-ed for a date. Upon being asked, she reportedly demurred to the then-42-year-old Hefner: “I don’t know, I’ve never dated anyone over 24 before.” To which Hefner replied, “That’s all right, neither have I.” The two began a relationship that lasted several years, and placed Benton in the center of the Playboy enterprise. Hefner convinced her to change her name from Barbara Klein to the more “marketable” Barbi Benton. She is credited with convincing Hugh Hefner to buy the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills in 1974.