Yasmine Bleeth: Biography

The Baywatch beauty who had millions of male viewers glued to their televisions with her slow-motion jaunts across sandy beaches, Yasmine Bleeth proved a lucrative television draw throughout the 1990s, though multiple run-ins with police in the early new millennium led many to whisper rumors of a fall from grace. Born in New York City on June, 14, 1968, Bleeth began her career in front of the cameras early when at age six she made her television debut in a Johnson & Johnson commercial. Featured prominently in Max Factor cosmetics ads, Bleeth was already a recognizable television ad-girl when she began attending high school at New York's United Nations International School. Roles in such television soap operas as Ryan's Hope and One Life to Live proved that she was more than just another pretty face, and in 1994 she found the perfect platform for both her beauty and talents when she landed the role of lifeguard Caroline Holden on the international television hit Baywatch. Also appearing in such made-for-television movies as A Face to Die For and Talk to Me (both 1996), her three-year stint on Baywatch came during the show's peak popularity and provided the comely actress with maximum small-screen exposure. A recurring role in the popular prime-time actioner Nash Bridges followed on the heels of her departure from Baywatch, and subsequent film and television roles hinted toward Bleeth's growing popularity and ability to draw an audience. It was the month before her debut on Aaron Spelling's television drama Titans that Bleeth was arrested in Romulus, MI, and brought up on charges of intoxicated driving and a felony cocaine-possession charge when police discovered multiple syringes in addition to liquid cocaine in her car after Bleeth failed a routine roadside sobriety test. A shocking photograph of Bleeth following a 36-hour drug bender showed that cocaine had ravaged the actress once voted one of the 50 most beautiful people ever by People Magazine, and rumors of a downward spiral spread through the tabloids. Pleading guilty to the charges found the former Baywatch starlet avoiding jail time but getting 100 hours of community service, and the early months of 2002 found the actress' planned summer marriage to fiancé Paul Cerrito rapidly approaching. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide