Barker's Beauties

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Barker's Beauties are the models on the American game show The Price Is Right. The term, coined by Mark Goodson, is derived from the name of the show's former host, Bob Barker. With Barker's retirement, the title is no longer officially in use, and new host Drew Carey has indicated in an interview with USA Today that he prefers to simply refer to the models by name as opposed to giving them a nickname. However, many audience members -- through designs on their clothing -- often refer to the models as "Carey's Cuties."

Over the years, there have been many Price Is Right models. The best known include Janice Pennington, who was with the show from its premiere in 1972 to 2000; Dian Parkinson (1975-1993); Holly Hallstrom (1977-1983 and 1984-1995); and Kathleen Bradley (1990-2000). For the first three years of The Price Is Right, there were just two Barker's Beauties - Pennington and Anitra Ford. Parkinson joined the cast in 1975 as the third Beauty after having been Ford's substitute for several months. Traditionally there are three models, although for a period in the early 1990s, there were four (Pennington, Bradley, Hallstrom, and Parkinson (1990-1993), then Gena Lee Nolin (1993-1995). As well, the November 16, 1992 episode of The Price Is Right featured an unidentified male model during the first Showcase.

Since the departures of Heather Kozar, Nikki Ziering, and Claudia Jordan in the early 2000s, the models have been on a rotation. In addition to several models who are more or less a permanent part of the cast, new models appear every few weeks who sometimes eventually join the rotation or other times do only a single set of tapings.

In February 2006, supermodel Tyra Banks appeared as a guest "Barker's Beauty." She assisted on It's in the Bag and Card Game.

Conflicts with Bob Barker

There have been conflicts between Barker and a number of the models over the history of the show. Several of the models, along with other staff members, filed lawsuits against Barker and the program, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination. After Parkinson brought forth sexual harassment allegations against Barker, he called a press conference to admit a past consensual sexual relationship with her.

In 2000, Pennington and Bradley were fired, allegedly for testifying on Hallstrom's behalf in her own wrongful-termination lawsuit against Barker and the show.

When asked in a USA Today interview about the four most famous Beauties, Barker replied, "They've been such a problem. I don't want to say anything about them. They're disgusting; I don't want to mention them." Barker has had praise for the more recent models, including Lanisha Cole, Phire Dawson, Brandi Sherwood, and Shane Stirling, calling them "the best models we've ever had."

All the lawsuits except for one were settled out of court at the production company's insistence.

Nighttime versions

On the first two syndicated nighttime versions of the show, the daytime models did double duty, with a few notable exceptions. In the earliest episodes of the 1970s nighttime show, a third model named Harriet was present; her last name is unknown, but she holds the distinction of being The Price Is Right's first black model. Additional models besides Parkinson were also featured on the nighttime show during Ford's leave in 1975, including Janice's sister Ann Pennington.

For the 1994 syndicated show hosted by Doug Davidson, however, an entirely separate cast of models was featured: Julie Lynn Cialini, Ferrari Farris, and Lisa Stahl.

Since the debut of the CBS primetime series in 2002, there are often situations where four to seven models are used on the show.

List of Barker's Beauties/Price Is Right Models

Name	Debut	Departure	Notes
Kyle Aletter-Oldham	1981	1996	Substitute model
Kathleen Bradley	1990	2000
Starr Campbell	2004	2005
Lanisha Cole	2003	present
Phire Dawson	2005	present
Chantel Dubay	1996	1999
Jennifer England	2002	2003
Anitra Ford	1972	1976
Lisa Gleave	2002	2003
Teri Harrison	2003	2005
Holly Hallstrom	1977	1995	Left in '83, returned in '84
Claudia Jordan	2001	2003
Heather Kozar	2001	2002
Amber Lancaster	2008	present
Cindy Margolis	1995	1996	Substitute model
Tamiko Nash	2007	present
Gena Lee Nolin	1994	1996
Gwendolyn Osbourne	2005	present
Dian Parkinson	1975	1993
Janice Pennington	1972	2000
Rebecca Mary Pribonic	2004	2006
Rachel Reynolds	2003	present
Stephanie Leigh Schlund	2008	present
Brandi Sherwood	2002	present
Shane Stirling	2002	present	Left in 2007, returned in 2008
Gabrielle Tuite	2003	present
Nikki Ziering	1999	2002
Lauren Jones	2007	2007

References

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Last updated on Saturday July 26, 2008 at 12:36:05 PDT (GMT -0700)
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