What The Cast Of Baywatch Looks Like Today

"Baywatch" was such a phenomenon in the 1990s that it spawned a spin-off series, a made-for-TV movie, and a theatrical film 15 years after the original series ended — not to mention a possible remake that's reportedly been in development. Yet it's wild to think that it nearly went away forever when NBC canceled the show in 1990 after just one season. Focusing on the lifeguards who watch over the beaches of Los Angeles and Hawaii, "Baywatch" swam into the uncertain waters of syndication for Season 2. It was there that the show went on to gain a worldwide audience of over 1 billion at its peak. The series also made global stars of several of its cast members, while giving David Hasselhoff another big TV hit after "Knight Rider."

Hasselhoff was the most consistent member of the "Baywatch" ensemble as lifeguard-turned-private eye Mitch Buchannon. The only other actors who even came close were Jeremy Jackson, who played Mitch's son Hobie, and real-life lifeguard Michael Newman, who played a character of the same name — both of whom put in over 150 episodes. And of course, you can't talk about "Baywatch" with mentioning Pamela Anderson, the fourth and final actor to hit the 100-episode mark.

Beyond that quartet were a number of actors who did their "Baywatch" tours of duty for anywhere from one to six seasons, with two-season stints typically being the most common. So what have some of the longest-serving "Baywatch" cast members been up to since they hung up their bathing suits and put away their rescue boards?

After making her screen debut as the girl that Elliot (Henry Thomas) kisses in class in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," Erika Eleniak stayed fairly under the radar — though plenty busy — until her career took off as one of the original cast members of "Baywatch." Eleniak played lifeguard Shauni McClain for the first three seasons. Shauni was initially positioned as the main female lead on the series, and when Eleniak left, it made room for Pamela Anderson to take over as the new face of "Baywatch." 

Eleniak said in 2018 that she left "Baywatch" to focus on her film career and because she felt the show had gotten more sexually-charged than she was comfortable with. 1992 brought her first big breakout movie role in "Under Siege," which she followed the next year by playing Ellie May Clampett in "The Beverly Hillbillies." Eleniak remained busy on both the big and small screens over the next 30 years, well into the 2020s, and also appeared in several reality shows, including "The Real Gilligan's Island" and "Celebrity Fit Club." 

In 2024, Eleniak was one of the "Baywatch" cast members who attended the premiere of the documentary "After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun," about the cast's experiences both during and since the show's airing. 

One of the most notable later additions to the "Baywatch" cast was Brooke Burns. The model, actor, and eventual game show host didn't jump in as lifeguard Jessica "Jessie" Owens until Season 9, and stayed there through Seasons 10 and 11. The show was rebranded as "Baywatch: Hawaii" during those two years, a move made to revitalize its flagging ratings that didn't end up doing much good: Season 11 was the show's last. 

Burns had main or recurring roles as an actor on a few other series, primarily the prime time soap opera "North Shore" and the Rebecca Romijn-led dramedy "Pepper Dennis." She also played detective Maggie Price in Hallmark's "Gourmet Detective" TV movie and its four sequels between 2015 and 2020. But her post-"Baywatch" career has been more widely associated with her various hosting gigs — Burns has hosted or co-hosted the game shows "The Chase," "Dog Eat Dog," "Hole in the Wall," "Master Minds," "You Deserve It," and "Tic-Tac-Dough."

Since 2013, Burns has been married to director Gavin O'Connor, best known for the movies "Miracle," "Warrior," and "The Accountant." In fact, she largely makes official public appearances these days only when accompanying her husband on the red carpet of one of his films, as she did in April 2025 for the premiere of "The Accountant 2."

It's not terribly unusual for an actor to play multiple roles on a television series. But typically, that only happens when the person plays a few different small roles, and never really takes on a significant character. Kelly Packard is pretty unique in that regard when it comes to "Baywatch," as she played two smaller characters — Joanie in Season 2, and Beth Campfield in Season 6 — before finally settling in as a series regular, playing April Giminski for Season 8 and Season 9. That was on top of two other episodes where she just played unnamed beachgoers.

As busy as Packard was on "Baywatch," it wasn't even her only major TV role during that time. She was also main character Tiffani Anne Smith on the teen sitcom "California Dreams" for almost its entire five-season run. After the '90s ended, Packard's acting career slowed down considerably, with only a handful of small film and television roles plus a stint co-hosting TBS's "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" and an appearance on "Celebrity Wife Swap." Clearly choosing which of her two iconic shows she has the most fondness for, Packard has been much more active in "California Dreams" reunions than "Baywatch" ones — including a 2023 fan event where she and several of her "California Dreams" co-stars put on a mini-concert, playing some of their songs from the show. 

Although he was played by a different actor in Season 1, Hobie Buchannon was portrayed by Jeremy Jackson for the remainder of the character's nine seasons on the series — though he was only in four episodes during Seasons 9 and 10. At 159 episodes, that puts him second to only David Hasselhoff in the total number of "Baywatch" segments an actor appeared in. Jackson was 11 years old when his "Baywatch" stint started, and 22 when he starred in the 2003 made-for-TV movie "Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding," so he truly did grow up on the beaches of the franchise.

Jackson has had a few small acting gigs since "Baywatch" ended, having spent most of his screen time over the last few decades appearing on talk shows and in reality shows — the latter including "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" in 2011, and the U.K.'s "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2015. Following in his fictional father's footsteps, Jackson also took a swing at a music career in the '90s, not only having a song on the 1994 "Baywatch" album but putting out two albums of his own. 

Jackson battled addiction and other issues towards the end of his "Baywatch" run and in the years that followed. But in 2024 he did multiple interviews touting that he was now sober and working as a fitness coach and addiction recovery mentor.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

David Hasselhoff wasn't the only member of the "Baywatch" cast to already have some pretty big projects under their belt before putting on the red swimsuit. In fact, actor Alexandra Paul already had several big Hollywood movies to her name before playing Stephanie Holden between Season 3 and Season 7 of "Baywatch." Paul had roles in "Christine," "Dragnet," and "8 Million Ways to Die" years before watching over the beaches of "Baywatch." She also played Amy Hastings in three "Perry Mason" TV movies in 1989.

It seems like the most common reason for an actor to have exited "Baywatch" was either because of various personal dramas on and/or off the set, or in order to make a concerted effort to find movie stardom. That makes the reason Paul left "Baywatch" fairly unique in that the actor had not only already done movies, but was still having a great time making the show and had no major issues to speak of. Apparently, Paul just felt that her time on the show had run its course, and it was simply time to move on.

While she remained a prolific actor throughout the '90s, 2000s, and beyond, Paul is probably better known in recent years for her activism work. She has been arrested several times while protesting against slaughterhouses and other places where animals are reportedly being mistreated, and has been awarded with various honors for her work in fighting for animal rights.

Gregory Alan Williams has been one of our best character actors for four decades and counting, most recently playing Martin Imari on HBO's unique, genre-dismissing series "The Righteous Gemstones." He's frequently called upon to portray law enforcement officers or doctors, with the former being the type of role he played for the first five seasons of "Baywatch" — as well as Season 1 of "Baywatch Nights" — as Garner Ellerbee. In the "Baywatch" Season 4 episode "Rescue Bay," Williams also played a fictional actor named Sly Hutchinson in a fun bit of double casting.

Williams has over 170 acting credits to his name, including not only a number of big films but also main or recurring roles on shows like "The West Wing," "The Sopranos," "Greenleaf," "Drop Dead Diva," "The Resident," and "Chicago Med." After working on some shorts in the 2010s, Williams has also moved into directing, writing, and producing both television projects and feature films in the 2020s. He won multiple awards for his work on both sides of the camera for his 2023 movie "Reunion." 

J.D. Darius (Michael Bergin) is one of the few "Baywatch" characters to whom the show's writers gave a tragic backstory, with early seasons seeing J.D. trying to overcome a loss of confidence from a failed rescue attempt in his past. But he soon became one of the show's standout male characters in its final few seasons, thanks in no small part to the charisma that Bergin brought to the role. 

Bergin mostly did single-episode stopovers on TV shows following the end of "Baywatch," with the exception of a 12-episode stint as Nick Bozman on the NBC soap opera "Passions." His most recent acting credit is a 2021 TV movie called "The Wrong Valentine," and he has since shifted away from the entertainment industry. He describes himself as a "top Los Angeles real estate agent" on his Instagram page, which occasionally features throwback posts to his "Baywatch" and modeling days but is largely devoted to his real estate career. 

While most actors on this list either started at the beginning of "Baywatch" or came in for the last few seasons, Gena Lee Nolin's time on the show came right in the middle, from Season 6 through Season 8. She played Neely Capshaw, who not only was more of a "bad girl" type than many of the other lifeguards on the show, but would eventually marry and then divorce Mitch. 

The aforementioned stretch took place just when Nolin herself played Neely, but doesn't encompass the entirety of Neely's arc on the show. The character was originated by Heather Campbell in a Season 5 episode, and was then played by Jennifer Campbell in a recurring capacity for Season 9 after Nolin left the show.   

As for what else Nolin was up to before her time as Neely, the "Baywatch" legend was also a model on "The Price is Right." Her only other major acting gig was the titular role on the short-lived 2000 syndicated adventure series "Sheena." In 2013, Nolin wrote a book called "Beautiful Inside and Out, Conquering Thyroid Disease with a Healthy, Happy, 'Thyroid Sexy' Life" in which she uses her own experiences with thyroid disease to help others who are also struggling with it. She continues to focus on health advocacy through social media, interviews, podcasts, and her Thyroid Sexy initiative.

Believe it or not, there was a real lifeguard among the cast of "Baywatch." Fittingly enough, it was the actor whose character was named after him — Michael Newman, playing himself in a sense. Because of his experience in the field, Newman also became a de facto lifeguard advisor on the set, as well as being the only member of the cast able to perform complex underwater stunts. He smartly used all of that as leverage to get himself more screen time and dialogue, eventually moving up from uncredited recurring character to main cast member. 

A small role in the 1999 action film "Enemy Action" would be Newman's only major non-"Baywatch" acting gig, and he left the industry after that. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2006, and would go on to work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in its efforts to find a cure for the disease. One of his final public appearances was at the premiere of the "After Baywatch" documentary in August 2024. Just two months later, in October, Newman sadly joined other "Baywatch" actors you might not know passed away when he died due to complications from Parkinson's disease.

David Chokachi became such a major player in the "Baywatch" universe as Cody Madison that it's easy to forget he didn't actually join the show until Season 6 — and was gone before Season 10. In fact, he later admitted that he thought "Baywatch" was garbage before he auditioned for it, but has since had nothing but positive things to say about the show, his castmates, and the effect it had on his life and career. He also spoke in 2024 about previously being close friends with his "Baywatch" co-star Pamela Anderson, and regretting that the pair had lost touch and drifted apart.

Just after leaving "Baywatch," Chokachi played Jake McCarthy in both the TNT movie "Witchblade" and the two-season series that it launched. He was also a main cast member for all three seasons of the 2006 drama series "Beyond the Break," which aired on the now-defunct cable channel Noggin, and has steadily worked in film and television ever since. Chokachi also works with the pet rescue organization Wings of Rescue, and is an ambassador for the ocean and beach preservation organization Surfrider Foundation.

David Hasselhoff might have initially been the star of "Baywatch," but that all changed once Pamela Anderson joined the cast in Season 3 as C.J. Parker. Anderson was already a household name just from being a Playboy cover model — back when being a Playboy cover model alone could make one a household name — and her fame was further cemented when she played original Tool Time girl Lisa on "Home Improvement." Both her fame and the popularity of "Baywatch" were peaking just as she started on the show, producing an explosive synergy at just the right pop culture moment.

Unfortunately for Anderson, the leaking of her private sex tape with then-husband Tommy Lee — and the subsequent backlash that came from it, directed almost entirely at Anderson herself — more or less killed all forward motion her career had. She never hurt for acting work, but it was often more of the self-mocking variety that required her to poke fun at herself, her reputation, and even the sex tape fiasco in particular. Her name re-entered the pop culture conversation in a big way in the 2020s thanks in part to the Hulu miniseries "Pam and Tommy," which Anderson slammed for rubbing salt in the wound of the original experience. 

Anderson ultimately got the last laugh with her triumphant acting return in the 2024 movie "The Last Showgirl," with a performance so strong that it was widely considered a snub when she wasn't nominated for an Oscar.

There's no question that David Hasselhoff was the biggest star in the "Baywatch" cast when the show first began, and the actor was all-in on the show and its various extensions. He even cameoed in the 2017 "Baywatch" reboot movie, fittingly playing a character known as The Mentor. Hasselhoff, as Mitch Buchannon, certainly graced a lot of television screens around the world in the 1990s, far more than even some of the biggest TV actors of that era can claim.

Even before starring in "Knight Rider," Hasselhoff was already a household name thanks to his long recurring role as Snapper Foster on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless." He later had the distinction of being the first person to ever play Nick Fury in live action via his role in the 1998 TV movie "Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.," a full decade before Samuel L. Jackson's own debut in the role at the end of "Iron Man." In recent years, Hasselhoff has been more willing to have fun with his persona via intentionally self-parodying appearances in various movies and TV shows, a long-established way for aging actors to stay relevant far beyond their peak years of fame.

Hasselhoff has also maintained a long and successful music career, particularly in Germany and other German-speaking areas of Europe, and has sold over two million albums worldwide.