She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the January 1958 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Arthur James and Mike Shea.Elizabeth's pictorial was a significant one in the history of Playboy because she was only 16 at the time her photos were taken. She literally had a note from her mother giving her permission to pose, but both Hugh Hefner and Roberts' mother were arrested and charged by Chicago authorities with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges were eventually dropped on the grounds of lack of evidence that Hefner had known her true age.Roberts eventually became a Bunny at the Chicago Playboy Club.Her centerfold can be seen in animated form in Ralph Bakshi's film American Pop.