Career
She went on to represent the United States in the international Mission World contest, and was first runner-up to Lesley Langley of the United Kingdom. She traveled during 1965 with the Bob Hope United Service Organizations 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 United States. 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 and a half years.
Parkinson left the show in 1993, supposedly 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The suit was withdrawn in April 1995, Parkinson claiming it was too costly and had taken a toll on her health.
Parkinson was the cover girl of in December 1991, and again in May 1993.
