Nikki Ziering Biography

Nikki Ziering was born Natalie Schieler, on August 9, 1971, in Norwalk, California, U.S. She has a sister named Kimberly, who is a year older than her.

She attended the 'Sonora High School' in La Habra, California, and graduated in 1989. Following this, Ziering attended the 'Cypress College.'

Nikki Ziering initially worked as a dental assistant in Brea, California, and while working there, she was scouted by a talent agent. Due to her athletic physique, she became an appropriate choice for lingerie and swimsuit campaigns.

Soon after, she got projects from brands such as 'Carabella,' 'Frederick's of Hollywood,' and 'Venus Swimwear.' Ziering quickly gained prominence in the fashion industry and became a spokesperson for '24 Hour Fitness,' 'Korbell,' and 'Coors.'

Ziering shot to fame after she did a campaign for 'Playboy' magazine. The magazine featured her nude photographs in the August 1997 issue and named her the “Playmate of the Month” the following month. Years later, in July 2003, Ziering did another photo shoot for 'Playboy' and appeared in a feature pictorial for the magazine.

From 1999 to 2002, Nikki Ziering appeared as a “Barker's Beauty” in the syndicated (previously ‘CBS’) game show 'The Price Is Right.' She had replaced model Chantel Dubay on the show. Ziering was the first to audition for the show.

Toward the end of 2000, after models Janice Pennington and Kathleen Bradley (who was associated with the show for a long time) were abruptly dismissed. Ziering was given the role of handing the microphone to the host of the show, Bob Barker. Eventually, she shared the role with co-models Heather Kozar and Claudia Jordan.

In March 2002, Nikki Ziering, 30, was in Gary, Indiana, to serve as a celebrity judge for the “Miss USA” pageant.

Nikki Ziering appeared on the show for four seasons and made her final appearance on September 30, 2002.

After she left the show, Ziering revealed that the host, Barker, had been insecure of her popularity and that he did not like the fact that the audience would often ask him questions about her. She even pointed out that Barker might have conspired her dismissal from the show.

However, Barker denied such accusations and called her statement "completely inaccurate."

After her stint on 'The Price is Right,' Ziering made her first film appearance with a cameo as a henchwoman in 'Austin Powers in Goldmember,' which released in 2002.

She later appeared as 'Allison,' a negative character, in 'Serving Sara.'

In 2002, Ziering, along with Barker and Jordan, appeared in an episode of the ‘CBS’ soap opera 'The Bold and the Beautiful.'

Additionally, she has made a string of guest appearances on TV shows such as ‘Beverly Hills, 90210,’ 'Babylon 5,' 'V.I.P.,' 'The Young and the Restless,' and 'Less Than Perfect.' She also experimented with hosting and was invited on the ‘E!’ show 'The Gossip Show and Wild On.' Ziering also appeared on the reality shows 'I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Outta Here!,' 'Celebrity Paranormal Project,' 'The Howard Stern Show,' and 'Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling.'

Nikki Ziering has also worked as a sideline reporter for the televised tournament 'Ultimate Blackjack Tour,' aired on ‘CBS,’ and co-hosted the comedy show 'The Grill with Vernon Kay.'

In 2004, she was the captain of the women's team 'Los Angeles Temptation,' which participated in the 'Legends Football League' championship game named the 'Lingerie Bowl' (now known as the 'Legends Cup').

She has also appeared in the sex-comedy film 'American Wedding' (as topless 'Officer Krystal'), the black comedy 'National Lampoon's Gold Diggers' (as 'Charlene'), and 'National Lampoon's Spring Break.'

In 2008, she played the protagonist 'Casey Myers' in the B-movie 'Crazy Girls Undercover.'

While working on the show 'Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling,' Nikki Ziering was involved in a controversy after the news website ‘TMZ’ revealed her pregnancy.

In September 2018, actor Paul Danan claimed that he had had a sexual encounter with Ziering during his stint on 'Celebrity Love Island' in 2005. He added that he had been attracted to her since the time she had entered the show. The revelation of the sexual encounter earned her the label ''sex-mad slapper.''

Nikki Ziering married actor Ian Ziering on July 4, 1997. She embraced Judaism before getting married. Ian Ziering had first seen her in 1995, when she worked as an “extra” on '90210.'

The union was tumultuous from the beginning. Ian later told the media that her self-obsession had impacted the marriage. Reportedly, Ziering lived a luxurious life after marrying Ian.

The two had a bitter divorce in 2002, citing irreconcilable differences. Following the divorce, Ziering said that she had not received any alimony from Ian, as opposed to what people believed. She added that the actor had not even helped her financially in moving out. She claimed she had to use all her savings to support herself. Ziering also said that marrying Ian had impacted her career negatively. However, when she wanted to drop the surname “Ziering” form her name and use her maiden name instead, her managers stopped her from doing so.

Ian's spokeswoman defended her client, saying that Ziering had received compensation worth more than what was mentioned in their pre-nuptial agreement.

Ziering had been in a relationship with actor Paul Danan in 2005.

She is currently in a relationship with Rick Reynolds and has a daughter, Tatum Ella Reynolds. Tatum was born on March 27, 2009.