Austin studied dancing at Sacramento State College, and found work with the Tony Martin nightclub act upon arriving in Hollywood.
[1] In addition to appearing in two Elvis Presley films, in 1964–1967 Austin gained fame for a long series of popular automobile television commercials (and print ads) for Dodge (the Charger, Coronet, Polara, and other models).
As the perky "Dodge Rebellion Girl", she appeared in around twenty commercials as a damsel in distress: menaced by sharks, falling from a drawbridge, a roof, a cargo plane, etc.
Posters for the film referenced her Dodge commercials: That "Rebellion Girl" is dodgin' unbelievable perils...[2][failed verification] In 1968, she was a semi-regular on the hit comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In during its first season.
Austin performed in various comedy sketches, song-and-dance numbers, and pre-filmed segments, including an early music video for "Buy For Me The Rain" by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.