What happened to Robbin Bain? The ex-Today host and pageant winner who left the show after only two months is reported dead at 87. How she died, career, family and more explored.
Robbin Bain had a successful career in the entertainment industry that spanned over decades.
She commenced her career as a model and beauty pageant winner before transitioning into becoming an actress.
The groundbreaking female co-host on 1960s daytime television started as the face of a brewery.
Sadly, in November 2023, the world learned about her death, and following that, many want to know more about her biography; who she was, what she did for a living, her family; her married husband, relationships, and finances. Here’s everything you need to know.
Who was Robbin Bain?
Robbin Bain or Robbin Mele Gaudieri was a beauty queen and groundbreaking television reporter.
She was well-known for being one of the first hosts of NBC’s Today show
She was born as Barbara Jane in 1936 in Queens, New York, and later moved to Bronxville with her family.
Her dad was an executive at Mack Trucks and her mother was a homemaker.
She changed her name early in her career to not be confused with the actress Barbara Bain.
Robbin Bain had an impressive career
Known to the public as Robbin Bain, the television star launched her career after winning a beauty pageant in 1959.
She was elected to be the face of Rheingold beer which was popular throughout the New England region at the time, the New York Times reports.
She was beloved by audiences across the United States and Europe for being the portrait of an idyllic housewife in newspaper ads and at events.
One ad that ran soon after she was voted Miss Rheingold 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!”
According to Bain, the role wasn’t just about looks, it was about being able to sell the product.
“It was not a body thing,” she told the New York Daily News in 2000.
“Personality and wholesomeness were very important. You had to look very approachable to the guys sitting at the bar or going to the supermarket.”
In 1956, she started to transition into television presenting, and worked on “The Jackie Gleason” as one of four women called “Portrettes.”
By 1961, she was asked to join NBC’s Today show in a role where she discussed fashion, makeup, and woman-focused features.
But she only lasted six months before leaving as she was pregnant with one of her daughters.
She would later return to the program as a co-host.
Famous news journalist Barbara Walters held Bain’s position at one point and described it as “Neanderthal” for women to be stuck only covering women’s issues in her autobiography.
But Bain spoke of her role with pride and felt that starting as a host was groundbreaking.
“I was the only woman with the exception of the makeup woman on the set,” she said in a 2012 reunion.
What was Robbin Bain’s cause of death?
Former beauty pageant winner Robbin Bain has been reported dead.
She died on October 21, 2023, in her Long Island, New York, home.
She was aged 87.
Her family announced her passing but it comes after a fight with breast cancer.
Who was Robbin Bain married to and did she have any children?
Robbin Bain was a wife and a mother at the time she passed.
She was married to her husband, Alexander Guadieri
However, details about the couple, including information about how they met, when and where they held their wedding ceremony, and how long they were together, were never documented online.
Aside from her spouse, Bain is survived by her daughters Lara and Dina Nemeth. Not much is known about her children.
She also had a stepson from her spouse’s other relationships named, Alexandre Guadieri, and was blessed with six grandchildren at the time of her death.
What was Robbin Bain’s net worth?
The late former model, and beauty pageant winner accumulated an impressive fortune over the years.
Before she died, Robbin Bain had an estimated net worth of less than $1 million as some sources suggest she possibly could have made between $500,000 and $1 million.
While modeling as Miss Rheingold, Robbin earned a massive payout of $50,000, which would add up to a life-changing $530,000 today.