# Julie McCullough
**Julie McCullough** (Julie Michelle McCullough) is an American model, actress, and stand-up comedian, known as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for February 1986 and for playing Julie Costello on the ABC sitcom *Growing Pains* in 1989 and 1990, a role from which she was dismissed in a controversy tied to her Playboy career.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/) • [2](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2129)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/) |
| Playboy | Playmate of the Month, February 1986, photographed by Arny Freytag; also appeared on the cover of the magazine's "Girls of Texas" issue[3](https://www.playboyplus.com/en/update/Playmate-of-the-Month-February-1986---Julie-McCullough/129598) |
| Signature TV role | Julie Costello, girlfriend and later fiancée of Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) on *Growing Pains*, 1989–90[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography) |
| Dismissal | Written out of *Growing Pains* after co-star Kirk Cameron, a recent evangelical convert, objected to her Playboy past; Fandango records that she was axed after only eight episodes[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography) |
| Known films | *Big Bad Mama II* (1987), *The Blob* (1988), *Top of the World* (1997), *2012: Ice Age* (2011), *Sharknado* (2013)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/) |
| Later career | Full-time stand-up comedy from 2006; a 50-city tour as a Playboy Bunny in 2004; voice of the tutorial in The Playboy Mansion Game[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/bio/) |
| Marriage | Married actor David Sutcliffe on November 10, 2001; divorced in 2003[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/bio/) |
## Early life and modeling
McCullough was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1965, the daughter of a Marine Corps career serviceman, and the family moved frequently during her childhood; she was living in Texas by the time she entered modeling.[3](https://www.playboyplus.com/en/update/Playmate-of-the-Month-February-1986---Julie-McCullough/129598) She graduated from Allen High School in Texas in 1983.[6](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168669/biographies) As a teenager she entered pageants, winning several Miss Photogenic awards, and worked as a grocery-store checker through high school.[3](https://www.playboyplus.com/en/update/Playmate-of-the-Month-February-1986---Julie-McCullough/129598) Encouraged to try modeling, she moved to California after turning 18.[6](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168669/biographies)
## Playboy
McCullough was Playmate of the Month in the February 1986 issue, photographed by Arny Freytag, and she also appeared on the cover of that issue's "Girls of Texas" salute.[3](https://www.playboyplus.com/en/update/Playmate-of-the-Month-February-1986---Julie-McCullough/129598) The appearance drew reaction in her home town of Allen, a rural community 26 miles north of Dallas, where a local pastor announced he would preach a sermon on the subject.[3](https://www.playboyplus.com/en/update/Playmate-of-the-Month-February-1986---Julie-McCullough/129598) She later maintained her ties to the Playboy brand: she appeared in the *Playboy Video Playmate Calendar* releases, took a 50-city tour of the United States as a [Playboy Bunny](https://www.edgepedia.org/playboy-bunny) in 2004, provided the tutorial voice for The Playboy Mansion Game, blogged for the company, and appeared on the reality program *The Girls Next Door*.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/bio/) • [4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography)
## Growing Pains and dismissal
In 1989 McCullough joined the cast of *Growing Pains*, the ABC family sitcom that ran from 1985 to 1992, playing Julie Costello, a nanny who became the girlfriend and then fiancée of Mike Seaver, played by [Kirk Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-cameron).[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography) The storyline reached a wedding episode, "Mike and Julie's Wedding," which ended with Julie leaving Mike at the altar.[7](https://parade.com/entertainment/growing-pains-star-reveals-the-shocking-way-she-found-out-she-was-fired)
Her exit became one of the best-known casting controversies of late-1980s American television. Cameron had converted to evangelical Christianity, and accounts attribute her dismissal to his objection to her having posed nude for Playboy; Fandango records that he urged the producers to fire her and that she was axed after only eight episodes.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography) In a 2026 podcast interview, McCullough said she learned she had been written out when she returned to the set after a break and found it being dismantled, and that old Playboy images of her had been republished after she declined a new pictorial.[7](https://parade.com/entertainment/growing-pains-star-reveals-the-shocking-way-she-found-out-she-was-fired) She has said she has no misgivings about having posed for Playboy and described the reaction to it as a religious backlash.[8](https://www.wingmanmagazine.com/julie-mccullough/)
## Later acting and comedy
McCullough continued working in film and television after *Growing Pains*. Her screen roles include Polly McClatchie in the [Roger Corman](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-corman)-produced *Big Bad Mama II* (1987), opposite [Angie Dickinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/angie-dickinson), Susie in *The Blob* (1988), Ginger in *Top of the World* (1997), and Teri Hart in *2012: Ice Age* (2011); she also appeared in the *Sharknado* films.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/) Her television guest appearances include *Beverly Hills, 90210*, *The Golden Girls*, *Robin's Hoods*, and *The Drew Carey Show*.[4](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography)
**Stand-up comedy** became her main performing outlet. She trained in situation-comedy classes at the Improv comedy club in Los Angeles under the coach Bill Hudnut, worked with the magician Larry Wilson, and has appeared as a magician's assistant at the Magic Castle in Hollywood since 1987; in 2006 she began working full time as a stand-up comic.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/bio/) • [8](https://www.wingmanmagazine.com/julie-mccullough/) In recent years she has worked steadily in independent film and appears at fan conventions.[9](https://popgeeks.com/the-flashback-interview-julie-mccullough/)
## Personal life
McCullough married the actor [David Sutcliffe](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-sutcliffe) on November 10, 2001; the marriage ended in divorce in 2003.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/bio/) NNDB records that she was named Azalea Queen in [Wilmington, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilmington-north-carolina), and was stripped of the title, and lists her religious affiliation as Roman Catholic.[10](https://www.nndb.com/people/391/000159911/)
## References
1. [Julie McCullough, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/)
2. [Julie McCullough, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=2129)
3. [Playmate of the Month February 1986 – Julie McCullough, Playboy Plus](https://www.playboyplus.com/en/update/Playmate-of-the-Month-February-1986---Julie-McCullough/129598)
4. [Julie McCullough Biography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/julie-mccullough-442460/biography)
5. [Julie McCullough Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567204/bio/)
6. [Biographies: Julie McCullough, ElCinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2168669/biographies)
7. [Julie McCullough Reveals How She Was Fired from 'Growing Pains', Parade](https://parade.com/entertainment/growing-pains-star-reveals-the-shocking-way-she-found-out-she-was-fired)
8. [Julie McCullough is the Funny Bunny!, Wingman Magazine](https://www.wingmanmagazine.com/julie-mccullough/)
9. [The Flashback Interview: Julie McCullough, PopGeeks](https://popgeeks.com/the-flashback-interview-julie-mccullough/)
10. [Julie McCullough, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/391/000159911/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Clothing, textiles, and domestic crafts › Fashion and commercial models › Glamour and pin-up models*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license