She began her career in as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy has written several books about parenting and has promoted research into environmental causes and alternative medical treatments for autism. She has promoted the disproven idea that vaccines cause autism , [ 3 ] [ 4 ] and said that chelation therapy , a quack remedy , helped cure her son of autism.
The sisters did gymnastics and bowling as youths. Laurence High School , [ 24 ] although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school [ 25 ] and has said she was repeatedly bullied by classmates. McCarthy became the Playmate of the Month for October Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner cited McCarthy's "wholesome Catholic girl" persona as the unique quality for which she was selected out of 10, applicants.
According to McCarthy, the pictorial caused an uproar in her Catholic neighborhood, and resulted in her house being pelted with eggs, her sisters being taunted at school, and McCarthy, who counted Catholic nuns among her aunts, being lectured about her future damnation by those close to her.
Her job as a co-host was a success, and Playboy wanted her to do more modeling. She left after the match with the victorious Diesel. In , she landed a small part in the comedy The Stupids.
In , McCarthy launched two shows. Also in , she appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy the other cover featured Pamela Anderson. The following year, she starred in Diamonds. In , she had a role in the horror movie Scream 3 , and three years later she parodied that role in horror film spoof Scary Movie 3 along with fellow Playmate and actress Anderson.
