The American television game show The Price Is Right has, since its 1972 relaunch, employed a number of models to showcase the prizes and items that are given away on the show. From 1972 to 2007, the group was referred to as "Barker's Beauties", in reference to Bob Barker, who hosted the show during that period.
History
1956–65
The original Price Is Right also employed models. Usually, two models appeared per episode to model the prizes, much in the same tradition as the later incarnations. As is the case with the Carey era of the current version, the models were not referred to specifically by a nickname.
June Ferguson and Toni Wallace were the regular models, staying with the program for its entire nine year run. Various other models either assisted Ferguson and Wallace, or appeared during their absences. Ann Macomber Cullen (wife of host Bill Cullen) appeared at times to model a prize, to Bill's surprise.
1972–present
Over 25 women have appeared as models on The Price Is Right since the program's premiere. For the first three years, there were two models – Janice Pennington and Anitra Ford. Dian Parkinson joined Pennington and Ford permanently in 1975 after previously appearing only periodically.
Ford left the program in 1976 and was later replaced by Holly Hallstrom who joined the cast in 1977. Pennington, Parkinson and Hallstrom appeared as the three main models on both the daytime and syndicated versions of the show from 1977–1990. Host Bob Barker had a direct hand in choosing the Barker's Beauties, which as of 2002 was the only personnel responsibility he had; in an interview with Larry King Live, he described his criteria for the role, including physical beauty and the ability to make the prizes stand out and look more attractive to the home viewer. A slender weight was not, strictly, a job requirement; Barker noted that if it were, Hallstrom would've been fired long before she was.
Hallstrom briefly left the show in 1983 to pursue an acting career (as Ford did several years prior). In the interim, various models rotated in the third position alongside Pennington and Parkinson throughout the show's 12th season. Substitute models included Andi Rapagna (who would later go on to model for the Italian version of the show OK, Il Prezzo è Giusto!), Janice Baker (formerly of the NBC version of Card Sharks), and the daytime show's first African American model (albeit temporary), future Dallas actress Pat Colbert. Hallstrom returned to the show in 1984.
In December 1990, Pennington, Parkinson and Hallstrom were joined by the program's first permanent African American model, Kathleen Bradley, expanding the show's regular cast to include four models. Kyle Aletter (daughter of Frank Aletter and Lee Meriwether) appeared as the substitute model whenever one of the principal models was unable to appear in a given episode.
Parkinson left the show in 1993 "to pursue other interests" as stated by Barker, although speculation among some felt her departure was due to ongoing difficulties with Pennington. The following year, Parkinson filed a litigation suit claiming that Barker had been sexually harassing her beginning in the 1980s. Parkinson withdrew the suit in 1995.
Parkinson was replaced by several other women (including Cindy Margolis) until Gena Lee Nolin was hired in 1994. Hallstrom was dismissed from the show in 1995 by Barker and Jonathan Goodson due to a business decision to cut the number of models on the show, although Hallstrom alleged that she was dismissed for her refusal to support Barker in his then-ongoing litigation with Parkinson. Barker sued Hallstrom for slander and libel and Hallstrom countersued Barker for wrongful termination and age, weight, and medical discrimination. Eventually, Hallstrom was awarded a multimillion-dollar settlement in 2005.
After Nolin's departure that same year, Chantel Dubay was hired as the third model in 1996. Dubay left the show in 1999 and was replaced by Nikki Ziering.