Born on October 2, 1989 in Michigan, Karissa Shannon and her twin sister Kristina became known as models and Playboy Playmates. They were chosen by Hugh Hefner as his new girlfriends in 2008, which led them to star on the E! reality series called The Girls Next Door. They have since appeared as Miss July and Miss August 2009 in the double "summer issue" of Playboy. They moved out of the mansion in 2010 to pursue their own career, but still appeared on the show. Also that year, they gained fame for appearing on Sofia Coppola’s film Somewhere.