Sheila thought she found her dream man in Ron Darling, former pitcher for the New York Mets, but he was repeatedly unfaithful to her

'What he's known for if you know what I mean, is true,' says Kennedy of British music legend Jones

Sheila reveals flings with Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones and Michael J. Fox (who gave her his clothes to avoid the 'walk of shame')

Kennedy had a threesome with Guccione and his girlfriend Kathy Keeton - and a long-time affair with Guccione,

Some girls referred to it as 'jail' - living there meant having to sign in and out - and no guys allowed!

Sheila Kennedy, 53, was 18 years old when Penthouse founder Bob Guccione brought her to live in his NYC mansion

If Sheila Kennedy has one regret about that night it's that she didn't listen to her gut and leave.

She knew as soon as she walked into the bathroom and saw bottles of prescription medication added to the mounds of cocaine and alcohol being consumed - it could turn ugly.

But she was riding high; she was a Penthouse Pet of the Year, used to partying with musicians, actors and athletes. She pushed her fears aside and carried on.

Earlier she had no clue who Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N' Roses was. She just thought he was 'gorgeous' when she'd seen him in Manhattan's Cat Club.

Now she was partying with him in his suite. It seemed like so much of her life – a fantasy.

Sheila says motherhood is what changed her life for the better and gave her the purpose she desperately craved

Only this one was about to sour. Returning to the room she discovered everyone else had left.

She claims that Axl grabbed her by her hair, cutting her legs as he dragged her across the carpet and threw her forcibly, face down onto the bed.

He tied her hands behind her back and he had sex with her. And when he was done he apologized.

Today Sheila Kennedy, 53, carries no scars from the incident and is positive about this and much of the life that she lived as a Penthouse Pet.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail Online she recalls that night as just one of many wild experiences across a decade of living the life of a Penthouse Pet - a status that saw her pampered, coddled, manipulated and used by turns.

In her new book, No One's Pet: The Autobiography of Sheila Kennedy, she reveals what life was like living in legendary Penthouse founder Bob Guccione's Manhattan mansion; the secrets of her long running affair with the man who was part mentor part, father figure to her; her flings with two British music legends whose rivalry brought one affair to an abrupt end and how after a night with Michael J. Fox he gave her his clothes so she wouldn't have to endure the 'walk of shame' the following morning.

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'I wasn't planning on having a relationship with him but as soon as I saw him I was just, 'Oh my God, you're gorgeous,' says former Penthouse Pet Sheila Kennedy of her affair with magazine founder Bob Guccione (pictured together in 1980)

Sheila Kennedy posing on cover as Penthouse Pet of the Year in 1983. She was also Penthouse Pet of the Month in December 1981, also appearing on the cover of the magazine

She tells Daily Mail Online that Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose grabbed her by her hair, dragged her across the carpet and threw her forcibly, face down onto the bed - then tied her hands behind her back and had sex with her. Afterwards, he apologized

It has been 30 years since Sheila's life changed forever - discovered by the photographic assistant of legendary photographer, Stan Malinowski, a man who has shot for titles including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Playboy and Penthouse.

She had dreamed of being a model since she was a little girl growing up in a turbulent household in Memphis, Tennessee.

Sheila recalls: 'An aunt came to visit who was living in Vegas and I took off when I was 13 or 14 to live there. I thought I was going to be a big model even though I was 5' 2".'

Her big break came some five years later when Stan Malinowski's assistant took a liking to her and offered to introduce her to the man himself in Chicago.

'I thought that was fabulous. I got to Chicago and he looks at me and says, "Oh my God. You're nothing that I thought you were. You're too short, you're fat, your hair is horrible and your skin is terrible",' she says.

'I was 18 years old and still had acne from being a teenager. He said "I'm going to give you two weeks to lose some weight and clear your skin and grow your hair out as much as you can" – I had hair like Demi Moore's in Ghost.

He said, "You're going to stay here and I'm going to send your photos to Bob Guccione and Hugh Hefner." And it turned out Bob called straight away and wanted to send me to New York. So that's how it all started.'

Soon after Sheila found herself standing at the door of Guccione's $34 million Manhattan mansion overlooking Central Park.

'It was,' she says, 'Definitely a culture shock.'

Guccione was surrounded by eight Rhodesian Ridgebacks, his South African girlfriend Kathy Keeton's, dogs

'He was sitting behind a grand piano that looked like it was made of solid gold and he had the chains on and the button down shirt,' she says.

'I lived in Vegas, I was kind of used to this glamorous look in guys. I was familiar with the look but his voice, when he spoke, he had this deep sexy voice and he said, "Hi Sheila, I hope you're happy in your new home".'

Looking back she remembers: 'I wasn't planning on having a relationship with him but as soon as I saw him I was just, 'Oh my God, you're gorgeous.'

Being employed by Penthouse meant signing in and out whenever she came and went from the mansion – known by some as 'the jail.'

It meant never having guys back to the house and for Sheila it meant sleeping with Guccione and ultimately sleeping with his girlfriend Kathy in a threesome.

Her affair with Guccione started just over a month after her arrival at the mansion. It was her first shoot with him and they had flown to Paris.

'We were eating these little appetizers, drinking champagne. It was a fantasy being with Bob. I had this huge suite where he was going to photograph me,' reveals Kennedy

Sheila arrived at the Penthouse mansion when she was 18 years old and had a threesome with Bob Guccione and his girlfriend Kathy Keeton (pictured together)

'We were eating these little appetizers, drinking champagne. It was a fantasy being with Bob. I had this huge suite where he was going to photograph me,' tells Kennedy.

'So he came to my room when I was getting ready. I had a robe on. I'd brought some knee high socks, some bras and panties, little T-shirts.

'He said, "I have something to show you" and pulled out this mock cover of October '81. He said, "You're on the cover! This is huge. This cover's going to make so much money. You look like you're 15 years old".'

At the end of the photo session during which Sheila ended up completely nude, Guccione stayed on in her room. They smoked a little weed, she recalls, and one thing led to another.

From Paris Sheila and Guccione traveled to Rome, London and all over Europe.

She says: 'It was never my intent to have an affair with Bob. It happened naturally. It seemed so organic. It wasn't planned. Maybe he planned it. Maybe he knew that we would be together eventually but when it did happen I was okay with it.'

Back in the mansion Guccione made use of the secret stairways, once used by 'the help' to enter rooms unseen by guests.

Sheila's room was directly above the one that he shared with Kathy and he made nightly visits to her while Kathy slept.

One day Guccione casually mentioned that Kathy was attracted to Sheila. She says: 'It's just not something I'm interested in.'

But eventually, she recalls, 'he wore me down.'

Just as Guccione slept with many of the girls in the Penthouse mansion – a fact that Sheila at first struggled to accept – Kathy, she says, 'had her pick of the girls.'

Sleeping with both Guccione and Kathy was, according to Sheila, 'Probably a given to stay there. That was something that had to have happened. But she never liked me and I never liked her.'

But if living in the mansion was sometimes strained there was plenty of life beyond its walls to keep Sheila entertained – in particular there was a succession of often famous men who traipsed through her life.

The $34 million Penthouse mansion in the Lenox Hill section of Manhattan. Kennedy reveals some girls referred to it as 'jail' since living there meant having to sign in and out, in addition to no guys allowed

Guccione lived in the mansion with his his South African girlfriend Kathy and her eight Rhodesian Ridgebacks dogs, a few of which are pictured here

'He was sitting behind a grand piano that looked like it was made of solid gold and he had the chains on and the button down shirt,' she says of her first time meeting the Penthouse founder

The first, she says, was singer Engelbert Humperdinck, who she met in a Las Vegas hotel restaurant when she was just a teenager with a fake ID.

One night the maître d' took her backstage and introduced her to the star.

'He was sitting with a bunch of guys... smoking cigars and drinking cognac and he said, "Well who's this?"

'He had a nice English accent, very handsome, very tall and had a sexy voice.

'He said, "So I have a proposition for you Sheila. I want to play a game of darts with you – if you win I'll give you $1,000. If I win I get you." I said okay – obviously he won,' recalls Kennedy.

Sheila says not very much happened that night because Engelbert was so wasted.

But the pair began a relationship that would be taken up again whenever Engelbert was in town.

Tom Jones was, she says, 'another one that drank a lot and couldn't do anything really sexually.'

But she added with a mischievous smile, 'what he's known for if you know what I mean, is true.'

But Sheila's brief flirtation with Jones didn't last long. The day after their first encounter she met him for a drink in a Manhattan pub where he questioned her about a story he had heard linking Sheila with Engelbert Humperdinck. He wanted to know if it was true.

'I said yes,' she tells, 'And he said, "I need you to leave right now. I need you to get up and remove yourself from my table".

'He was dead serious. He had his driver take me back to the house. I started crying. I said, 'What did I ever do to you?' He hated Engelbert – they had some sort of thing going on and that's kind of how it ended. It was ugly.'

But her night with Axl Rose was by far the ugliest of her experiences. The girls partied with the band for a while before Axl invited Sheila to join them at the after party in his hotel but told her "Get rid of your friend. She's a little plump... go pick up a model or something".'

Sheila duly did and headed to the hotel.

Sheila tells of first meeting with legendary photographer Stan Malinowski. She says he told her: "I'm going to give you two weeks to lose some weight and clear your skin and grow your hair out as much as you can"

The former Penthouse Pet pictured on the magazine's covers. She reveals to Daily Mail Online that just as Guccione slept with many of the girls in the Penthouse mansion – Kathy 'had her pick of the girls'

'I think I walked into a situation that was ugly and I should have left but there was something in me that was attracted to him and I thought he's a good looking guy,' says Sheila of the hotel room incident with Axl Rose

The scene was, she says, 'Straight out of Boogie Nights. There was cocaine everywhere, pills, champagne and I just happened to go into his bathroom and I'm looking around, everybody's in the living room, and I see bottles of lithium and all this stuff. And I'm thinking, 'He is about to explode. This guy is on everything right now. And I got kind of scared.'

But she ignored every instinct and stayed.

Looking back, she says she felt used by the Guns N' Roses frontman.

'I think I walked into a situation that was ugly and I should have left but there was something in me that was attracted to him and I thought he's a good looking guy, I could have fun with him,' says Sheila.

She tells Daily Mail Online her experience with Michael J. Fox was at the other end of the spectrum.

It was the late eighties and Fox was in Manhattan filming Bright Lights, Big City, the movie of the book of the same name about a writer who is a fact checker by day and cocaine-using partygoer at night.

She met him at China Club and reveals she had an amazing time with the actor.

'We went to after hours places. We got kicked out of one place at seven or eight in the morning. He said, "Come back to my place." At the time I think he had just met Tracy who ended up being his wife. I said okay,' Kennedy says.

Sheila is uncharacteristically coy about the events that followed saying only that she stayed at Michael J Fox's penthouse and when she woke the following day the actor was gone as he had an early call.

She remembers: 'I got up and there's stuff laid out for me to wear. Like his sweatpants, I actually fit into his shoes. I think they were size 8 – they were a little big but he's a little guy.

'There was a T-shirt there. I put it on and I had my leather [clothes from the night before] stuffed in a bag.'

Later that day she received a phone call from Michael J. Fox's secretary, to this day she doesn't know how she got the number, informing her that Michael wanted his clothes back.

She says: 'I literally had to go and take all his clothes back and drop them off to the front doorman. I never saw him again.'

The only truly serious relationship about which Sheila writes in her book is her affair with Ron Darling, at the time the hot young pitcher for the New York Mets.

Her affair with Guccione was floundering. His once nightly visits to her room had dwindled to weekly and then monthly.

She thought that in Darling she had found 'the guy on the white horse' who would sweep her off her feet and take her away from life in the mansion – a life which, she knew, had a limited span.

But in Darling she made a bad miscalculation. He was repeatedly unfaithful to her.

She says: 'I wanted to be in love. I wanted to believe that I could get married and have children, do all that. It just didn't play out that way.

'I was definitely naïve with that I think. I think he was embarrassed and ashamed of what I'd done. I think I was never going to be wife material for him even though he led me on to believe that.'

Sheila Kennedy had flings with both British music legends Engelbert Humperdinck (left) and Tom Jones (right)

Kennedy remembers Michael J. Fox fondly but she thought she had met her dream man with Ron Darling (right) former New York Mets pitcher but she says: 'I think he was embarrassed and ashamed of what I'd done'

'I had given him all of my youth. I cared about this man. I cared about Kathy, I cared about his family. I wasn't even invited to their wedding. I was shut out,' Sheila says after getting fired by Guccione

Sheila wanted out of the Penthouse mansion . She wanted freedom but she struggled to adapt to 'real life' on the occasions when she did try to leave and always came running back home to Guccione.

Ultimately, it was events out of her control that brought her decade long tenure in the Penthouse mansion to an abrupt end.

She was in Los Angeles when she was approached by a woman writing a book about kept women.

She had been one herself. Sheila agreed to speak with her about her own experiences and was invited onto the then popular daytime TV show, Sally Jessy Raphael.

She was not, she today insists, talking about her experiences with Guccione but a brief flirtation with another wealthy man who wanted to keep her but in whom she had little or no interest.

But beneath her name on the screen she was described as being kept by a 'magazine publisher.'

She says: 'Well there were only two guys that it could be and everybody knew it was Bob.'

She received a telephone call informing her she was fired the very next day. Guccione hadn't seen the show but his decision was as final as it was brutal.

'I was devastated. I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had lived there nine, ten years of my life,' she tells Daily Mail Online.

'I had given him all of my youth. I cared about this man. I cared about Kathy, I cared about his family. I wasn't even invited to their wedding. I was shut out.

'I thought, 'How can you do that? How can you spend all those years with someone and then pretend you didn't know them?'

Sheila never had any more contact with Guccione who died in October 2010.

She admitted that at first she struggled to find a purpose and make a life outside the rarefied realm of the Penthouse mansion.

But she'd long had ambitions to act and she got her SAG card and secured several roles in a variety of films and TV shows.

'I was no Jodie Foster but I worked,' says Kennedy.

Ultimately, she reveals, it was motherhood that changed her life for the better and gave her the purpose she so desperately craved.

Sheila's son is now 24; she split from his father before he was even born.

Today she admits that had she had a daughter she would never have wanted her to follow in her footsteps – not, she says, that she wanted to be a hypocrite but rather that she regretted her own failure to finish a formal education.

It is something she would never wish for a child of her own and something she plans to rectify by returning to school.

Yet for all that, Sheila says, she has no regrets.

'I think what I did was beautiful,' she says. 'I had someone like Bob Guccione photograph me in the nude. It was gorgeous. It was sexy. It was classy.'