Dian Parkinson – Bio, Facts About The Price Is Right Presenter

Quick Facts

It is possible that when Dian Parkinson was born, nobody who knew her then and while she grew up will believe she would venture into modeling the way she did. This is because, as a young girl, she was raised under strict religious rules being lorded over here by her parents. However, beneath all the suppression her modeling dreams suffered, was a force which propelled her to the zenith of her career when the time was right.

Dian in her heydays was many things and successful in all thereof. She was a multiple pageantry champion, model, actress, and television gameshow presenter for – The Price Is Right. Her career as a show host is one of the longest for any model to date. Nevertheless, a time came when she left the show and this raised lots of questions. Find answers and more below.

Dian Parkinson – Bio

Dian Parkinson was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina on 30 November 1944 into a military family. She was raised under strict religious guidelines by her parents but instead of this rubbing off on her, it wore off sooner than one would’ve expected as she soon ventured into modeling.

In the year 1965, while she was living in Falls Church, Virginia, Dian Parkinson contested in the Miss District of Columbia USA which she won. This automatically qualified her to represent the district in the Miss USA pageant that held in the same year. Dian ended up as fourth runner-up. She contested and won the Miss World USA contest which took her to the Miss World contest. At the global arena, the Jacksonville, North Carolina belle came out as first runner-up to Lesley Langley of the United Kingdom.

Having proved herself on both the small and big stage, Dian Parkinson deserved the astronomical growth her modeling career witnessed in the years that followed. She traveled with the ‘Bob Hope USO Show’ in 1965 and served as the Queen of the 1965 Bob Hope Desert Classic golf tournament in addition to having performances in Vietnam in December of that year.

She was a guest star on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1975, and 3 years later, she made her debut television appearance on the pilot of the TV series Vega$. On the series, she played Charlene the love interest of a certain Dan.

In the year 1975 through 1993, Dian Parkinson got a lot more famous. She began working as a model on Barker’s Beauty television show called The Price Is Right. She was the presenter of this game show for 18 solid years before she departed. The reason she initially gave for her departure however later turned out not to be the actual reason for her departure.

When she left the show in 1993, her supposed reason was to pursue other life interests. But in the following year, she filed a lawsuit against the show’s host (Robert William Barker) for sexual harassment. In the suite, Dian claimed that a 3-year relationship had existed between herself and Bob but the relationship was extorted with threats of firing her from the show. She added that this caused her a miscarriage at the time. As interesting as this case seemed to be, it was however dropped the following year by Dian Parkinson who claimed it was too costly to pursue and it has already begun taking a toll on her health.

Facts About The Price Is Right Presenter

Salary and Net Worth

In her heydays during the 90s, Dian Parkinson was one of the highest paid models at the time. She was earning as much as $55, 000 annually. Add this to the earnings she got for her various brand endorsement deals, her net worth grew to about $1 million.

Playboy Model

Parkinson first appeared as a Playboy model in 1991 as a 46-year-old stunningly beautiful woman on their December issue. Two years later, she graced the cover of the magazine once again baring it all for all to see in their May 1993 issue. The issue was titled ‘Dian Parkinson: an Erotic Encore’. She subsequently featured on a newsstand publication entitled ‘Playboy presents Dian Parkinson’ after which she starred in a Celebrity Centerfold video.

Relationships and Marriage

Dian Parkinson is a woman that is least known for her marital life. However, there exist some records which reported that she was once married to a certain man named Robert C. Gardner back in 2000. Aside from him, the model was reportedly in relationships at various times with American photographer Bert Stern and host of The Price is Right, Bob Barker.

Body Measurements

The blond bombshell has a height of 5 Feet 7 Inch, weighs 56kg. Her body measures 36-23-37 inches being her bust, hips, and waist respectively.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.