International
The ultimate guide to The Price is Right models from the ‘80s
The Price is Right has had many different models over the years, but Janice Pennington, Dian Parkinson, and Holly Hallstrom remain fan favorites.
Ah, the ‘80s. While this era of “The bigger, the better!” hair, accessories, and (of course) shoulder pads have now mostly been replaced by the minimal and neutral Kardashian-esque styles of the modern day, millions of The Price is Right fans still reminisce about sitting down in front of their boxy television sets to watch this popular show, today.
But it is impossible to talk about what is arguably the most nostalgic era of this long-running game show, without including the beautiful models that made all of the show’s prizes seem all the more appealing.
The Price is Right in the ‘80s
Just about everything, from the hosts to the prices on The Price is Right, has changed the last five decades. But what is now referred to as the “Bob Barker Era” of the show is still one of the most popular in the show’s history.
And during this beloved host’s impressive 35-year run on the show, he was accompanied by only three main ladies.
Although the Bob Barker Era technically started back in 1972 with the show’s reboot and ended in 2007 when he retired, Janice Pennington, Dian Parkinson and Holly Hallstrom were the show’s main models in the ‘80s. And these talented ladies certainly remain fan favorites to this day.
Janice Pennington, Dian Parkinson and Holly Hallstrom’s contribution to the show
Over the years, dozens of models have appeared (albeit, briefly) on The Price is Right, but Pennington, Parkinson and Hallstrom have gone down in history as some of the show’s longest-running models. In fact, Pennington is still one of the longest-serving models in the show’s history.
Their individual runs on the show can be summarized as follows:
| Model | Start date | Departure date | Total run |
| Janice Pennington | 1972 | 2000 | 28 years |
| Dian Parkinson | 1975 | 1993 | 18 years |
| Holly Hallstrom | 1977 | 1995 (with a brief hiatus between 1983 and 1984) | 17 years |
Other models that made an appearance in this era
While Pennington, Parkinson and Hallstrom may be the faces which most fans remember from Bob Barker’s time on The Price is Right, a few other models also made an appearance during his many years as the show’s host.
Do we even need to talk about the ‘Barker’s Beauties’?
The ‘80s were certainly a different time, especially in the world of television game shows, but there are certain elements from this Bob Barker Era of the show which are perhaps best left in the past.
And while it is somewhat understandable that no one questioned the inherently objectifying nature of the name, “Barker’s Beauties” back in the day, we can only hope that things behind the scenes have changed for The Price is Right models since then.
And that Pennington and Hallstrom have enjoyed the settlement money which they earned from their various lawsuits against the show and against Bob Barker, who was apparently much less hospitable when the cameras stopped rolling.
The current The Price is Right models
While some people still think that all The Price is Right models do is stand around and point at the prizes, you simply cannot deny that the show would not be the same without its beautiful and multi-talented models.
Times have also indeed changed, and while these models reportedly still only make about $800 a day (or about $2,000 a week) even though filming days often involve extremely long hours, the current The Price is Right models do share the stage more often.
The Price Is Right model lineup now features a few different ladies, including Devin Goda, Amber Lancaster, James O’Halloran, Manuela Arbeláez, and Rachel Reynolds.
These models all balance this job with other hosting gigs and even with roles on television shows like How I Met Your Mother and The Bold And The Beautiful, between their rotating shifts.
