Dian Parkinson | Celebrity Net Worth 2026

Biography & Early Wealth Journey

Dian Parkinson is best known for her 18-year run as one of the models on "The Price Is Right," where she worked alongside host Bob Barker from 1975 until 1993. Her tenure made her one of the longest-serving models in the show's history, behind fellow longtime "Barker's Beauty" Janice Pennington.

Before television fame, Parkinson enjoyed a successful beauty-pageant career. She won Miss District of Columbia USA in 1965, placed fourth runner-up at Miss USA, and then won the Miss World USA title. She represented the United States at the Miss World competition in London and finished as first runner-up. That same year, she toured with Bob Hope's USO show, including performances for American troops in Vietnam.

Parkinson became a familiar television presence through "The Price Is Right" during the program's enormous rise in popularity in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. She also made occasional acting appearances and later expanded into glamour modeling, appearing on the cover of Playboy twice. After leaving "The Price Is Right," Parkinson largely withdrew from public life.

Early Life and Pageants

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

Dian Parkinson was born Diana Lynn Batts on November 30, 1944, in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She grew up in a military family and spent part of her youth in Virginia.

In 1965, while living in Falls Church, Virginia, she won the Miss District of Columbia USA title. Competing as Diana Batts, she advanced to the Miss USA pageant and finished as fourth runner-up.

Later that year, Parkinson won the Miss World USA competition and represented the United States at Miss World in London. She finished first runner-up to Britain's Lesley Langley.

Her pageant success quickly opened doors in entertainment and promotional work. Parkinson joined Bob Hope's USO tour in 1965 and traveled with his troupe to entertain U.S. military personnel, including troops stationed in Vietnam. She was also named queen of the Bob Hope Desert Classic golf tournament.

"The Price Is Right"

Parkinson joined "The Price Is Right" in 1975, initially appearing as a substitute model. She soon became a permanent fixture and remained with the CBS game show for 18 years.

The show's models, popularly known as "Barker's Beauties," displayed merchandise, presented prizes, and became recognizable television personalities in their own right. Parkinson worked for much of her tenure alongside Janice Pennington and Holly Hallstrom.

During those years, "The Price Is Right" became one of the most successful daytime television programs in American history. Barker, who hosted the show from 1972 until 2007, became one of television's most recognizable personalities, while Parkinson developed a large fan following of her own.

Price Is Right Salary

Price Is Right" in 1993, she was reportedly earning around $2,500 per week. Her final episode aired in June 1993.

Exactly how many weeks Parkinson was paid each year is not publicly documented. The show's 1992–93 season ran from September through June and produced 177 episodes. Contemporary reporting described "The Price Is Right" as typically taping two episodes per day during a five-day taping week, followed by periodic production breaks. That schedule suggests roughly 18 full taping weeks were required to produce a season's worth of episodes, although performers under weekly contracts could have been paid during additional rehearsal, production, and non-taping weeks.

If Parkinson's $2,500 salary applied across roughly 35 to 40 paid weeks during a typical television season, she would have been earning approximately $87,500 to $100,000 per year by the end of her run. At $100,000 in 1993, that would be equivalent to roughly $220,000 in today's dollars.

Dian Parkinson Circa 1980's (Photo by Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty Images)

Acting and Playboy

Parkinson made occasional acting appearances outside "The Price Is Right." In 1975, she appeared in an episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," starring Mary Tyler Moore. She later appeared in the pilot episode of "Vega$."

Parkinson also became a prominent glamour model later in her television career. She appeared on the cover of Playboy in December 1991 and again in May 1993, when she was in her late 40s. Playboy also released a special newsstand publication devoted to Parkinson and a home-video feature titled "Playboy Celebrity Centerfold: Dian Parkinson."

Her association with the magazine placed her among a long line of television personalities and models who appeared in publications associated with Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Parkinson also became a spokesperson for the EZ Krunch home exercise machine in the early 1990s.

Departure and Bob Barker Lawsuit

Parkinson left "The Price Is Right" in 1993. The following year, she filed a sexual-harassment lawsuit against Bob Barker and the show's production company.

Parkinson alleged that Barker had used his position as her employer to pressure her into a sexual relationship and that she feared losing her job if she refused him. Barker publicly acknowledged that he and Parkinson had had an intimate relationship but strongly denied that it had been coerced, maintaining that it was consensual.

The case generated extensive media coverage throughout 1994 and early 1995. A judge declined to dismiss the core sexual-harassment claim, although some defendants and allegations were removed from the case.

In April 1995, Parkinson withdrew the lawsuit. She said she could no longer afford the litigation and that the stress of the case was damaging her health. Because the lawsuit was withdrawn before trial, there was no verdict resolving the conflicting accounts offered by Parkinson and Barker.

Life After Television

Following the lawsuit, Parkinson largely disappeared from public life. Unlike several other former "Price Is Right" models, she did not develop another substantial television career and rarely gave interviews.

Her years on the program have periodically received renewed attention through retrospectives examining the history of "The Price Is Right" and the experiences of the show's models. Parkinson herself, however, has remained extremely private.

Real Estate

One of the few significant public glimpses into Parkinson's later financial life came through real estate.

In 2015, she purchased a large home in Westlake Village, California, for approximately $2.715 million. The Mediterranean-style property contained nearly 6,900 square feet of living space, five bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, a swimming pool, spa, cabana, multiple fireplaces, and elaborate landscaped grounds.

In November 2019, Parkinson listed the property for $3.125 million. The listing was one of the rare occasions in decades when her name returned to mainstream news coverage.

Since leaving television, Parkinson has otherwise maintained an unusually low public profile, making her 18 years on "The Price Is Right" the enduring centerpiece of her career.

Parkinson

Pennington