'Today' Show Favorite Robbin Bain Dead at 87

Robbin Bain, a former beauty pageant winner who covered fashion and beauty as a "Today Girl" on the NBC morning show, has died. Bain passed away at her Long Island, New York, home on Saturday, Oct. 21 following a battle with breast cancer, her daughter, Lara McLanahan, confirmed to Deadline. Bain was 87.

Born Barbara Jane Bain in Queens, New York in 1936, Bain changed her name to Robbin to avoid confusion with actress Barbara Bain, per The New York Times. Her public career in the entertainment industry began in 1959 when she won a beauty pageant and was named "Miss Rheingold," a title named after the most popular beer in the New York region. Bain defeated five other finalists in an election that reportedly attracted 24 million votes. For her win, Bain received $50,000 (equivalent to about $530,000 in today's dollars) and spent the next year making appearances in the United States and Europe. She also appeared in newspaper ads, including one that said, "You'll soon be seeing Robbin Bain almost everywhere you look, such an attractive reminder of the popular beer she represents – Rheingold Extra Dry!"

Robbin Mele Gaudieri, who, as Robbin Bain, embodied traditional women’s roles as the winner of a beauty contest designed to promote beer and later as a “Today Girl” handling fashion and beauty segments on the popular NBC-TV morning show, has died at 87. https://t.co/of4r11NpYh

— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) November 4, 2023

The pageant, however, was not Bain's first walk in the entertainment world. Several years prior, the star was one of four women called "Portrettes," who introduced host Jackie Gleason on his television variety show, The Jackie Gleason Show, in 1956 and 1957. Following her stint as a Portrette, she graduated with an associate degree from Bradford Junior College, where she studied psychology, art and theater.

Bain eventually returned to TV in 1961 when became a panelist on To Tell the Truth, a game show whose object was to figure out which of three people claiming to be the same person was the real one. In August of that same year, she joined Today as a "Today Girl," participating in various beauty and fashion segments alongside John Chancellor and Frank Blair. According to The New York Times, the role was previously held by actresses Estelle Parsons, Lee Meriwether and Florence Henderson. Barbara Walters, who died last year at 93, also held the position at one point. During a 2012 reunion, Bain spoke highly of the role, sharing, "I was the only woman with the exception of the makeup woman on the set." Bain, however, left Today after only two months after she became pregnant with her daughter, Dina Nemeth.

In addition to McLanahan and Nemeth, Bain is survived by her husband Alexander Guadieri and stepson Alexandre Guadieri, as well as six grandchildren.