Miss Nude Universe twice in a row, in 1970 and 1971, won her a topless, non-speaking role in The New Centurions (1972). This success led her to work as a maid for fellow nudemodel and actress Stella Stevens, and she went on to tour as a strip-dancer for three years.
During this time, she met talent-finder Russ Meyer, with whom she maintained an on-again, off-again relationship for 15 years. Meyer reportedly paid for her breast enhancement in 1979. However, their relationship was complicated by the fact that her first husband, 25 years her senior, refused to grant her a divorce. Eventually, he did, and she went on to marry and divorce three more times.
In the 1980s and 1990s, she appeared in numerous hardcore productions, but refused to participate in explicit sex scenes. Instead, she would often say a line or pose topless. Her unique combination of wild beauty, personal charm, and sex appeal left a lasting impression on viewers, often more indelible than that of film stars.
In her later films, she appeared plump but still attractive. Chris Penn remembered her 44-25-35 dimensions from their earlier film, The Wild Life (1984),in which she also danced. Penn even presented his brother Sean Penn with an erotic performance by Kitten Natividad on the eve of his marriage to Madonna.
In October 1999, she underwent a double mastectomy to treat breast cancer.
