Carol Merrill

In 1957 Carol won a beauty pageant, becoming Miss Azusa. One of the prizes was a modeling course, which undoubtedly helped her prepare for her future career. After graduating from high school, Carol spent the next year working in an exclusive women's clothing store. The following year she enrolled at Pasadena City College. During her second year as a business major, Carol was offered her first modeling job - a two week booking for a fashion publication to be shot in Brazil .... and her career was launched! Shortly thereafter a friend, Gardner McKay (star of the "Adventures in Paradise" TV series), introduced Carol to one of L.A.'s top modeling agencies. From there her career evolved to include television commercials, movies and TV shows.

Carol Merrill is most well known to television audiences for her fourteen years on the game show, Let's Make A Deal, hosted by Monty Hall. Due to her popularity on the show, she has been invited to be a guest on shows over the years such as: Good Morning America, David Letterman, Geraldo, The Phil Donahue Show, A.M. San Francisco, Entertainment Tonight, Biography, The Vicki Show, The Caryl & Marilyn Show, People are Talking, and the recent Hollywood Squares. Prior to her role on Let's Make A Deal, Carol was the model on the CBS game show Your Surprise Package hosted by George Fenneman.

Throughout Carol's modeling career, she lived in Los Angeles. The majority of those years were spent on a small ranch in Malibu. She and her husband at the time, Bernie Safire, raised their daughter Hillary surrounded by a bevy of farm animals, a large organic vegetable garden and fruit orchard.

Due to her interest in the natural health field, upon the close of Carol's game show career, she went to work for a highly regarded chiropractor/nutritionist. Nutritional counseling and other health-related activities became Carol's focus.

In 1985 Carol married Mark Burgess and four years later they moved to the Big Island of Hawaii. Carol spent several years working on environmental issues in Hawaii before joining her husband in his landscape/nursery business. She was recognized and honored for her environmental work when she received the Hawaii County Mayor's Award of Excellence and the First Lady's Outstanding Volunteer Award from the State of Hawaii.

Since selling their business in Hawaii two years ago, Carol and Mark have spent the majority of their time in a beach community in Australia. Carol's present day activities include growing fruits, veggies and herbs organically in containers, Ayurvedic cooking, staying in shape by doing a variety of exercises on the beach (while her husband surfs), and writing. She has written health-related articles for two on-line newsletters and is currently working on an autobiography. By sharing her life and what she's learned along the way, she hopes to inspire others to live healthier and happier lives.

Carol's daughter, Hillary Safire, is a hairstylist. She and her father own a hair/beauty salon in Malibu. She has a teenage son named Kyle.

Carol's niece, Carla Gugino, is the well-known actress of Spy Kids fame. Carla credits Carol as being the person responsible for getting her started in show business.