Dian Parkinson Biography

Dian Parkinson (born Dianna Lynn Batts on November 30, 1944 in Jacksonville, North Carolina) is a former American model and hostess on The Price Is Right.

Career history

In 1965, while living in Falls Church, Virginia, she won the Miss District of Columbia USA title and competed as Diana Batts in the Miss USA 1965 pageant, where she placed fourth runner-up. Parkinson won the 1965 Miss World USA contest. She went on to represent the United States in the international Miss World contest, and was first runner-up to Lesley Langley of the United Kingdom.

She traveled during 1965 with the Bob Hope USO Show including performances in Vietnam during late December 1965 and also served as Queen of the 1965 Bob Hope Desert Classic golf tournament.

From 1975 to 1993, Parkinson was a Barker's Beauty model on the U.S. television show The Price Is Right. Her 18-year tenure on the show was among the longest of any of the models, second only to Janice Pennington, who lasted on the show for 28 years.

Departure from The Price Is Right

Parkinson left the show in 1993 to "pursue other interests", as host Bob Barker announced during her final appearance. At the time there were rumors, particularly in the tabloids, that she had left the show because of an ongoing feud with Janice Pennington.

Although it was reported that they quarreled (production staff seldom paired them together by the early 1990s), it was not the primary reason she departed the show. The following year (1994), Parkinson filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court (case no. BC106366) against Barker for sexual harassment, claiming a three-year sexual relationship was extorted by threats of firing from The Price Is Right. The suit was withdrawn in April 1995, Parkinson claiming it was too costly and had taken a toll on her health.

Playboy

Parkinson was the cover girl of Playboy in December 1991, and again in May 1993, appearing in nude pictorials in both issues. She also appeared in a feature newsstand publication entitled "Playboy Presents Dian Parkinson". Parkinson was featured in her own 1993 Celebrity Centerfold video.