Brooke Burns (born March 16, 1978 in Dallas, Texas), is an American
model and television and motion picture actress probably best known
for her role on Baywatch and Baywatch Hawaii.
Brooke was the middle child of three siblings. Since kindergarten, her
dream was to become a ballet dancer. Her mother encouraged her from a
young age to pursue this. Unfortunately, a serious ski accident
prevented Burns' from accomplishing this; she was unable to perform
the flexible moves needed to become a top tier dancer. Then, her
mother sent her to do some modeling as a back-up plan. At 16 years
old, still in high school, Brooke began to appear in European and
American fashion magazines.
She started appearing in commercials for Mug Root Beer and popular
restaurants. Her appearances translated into a successful audition for
Out of the Blue, a show filmed on location at Sea World, in Orlando,
Florida. After this, she decided to move to Los Angeles. She got an
audition for a role on Baywatch and while she didn't get the part, she
got her big break when she was called back to fill a permanent role as
Jessie Owens. She developed a cult following on Baywatch and Baywatch
Hawaii. In addition to her Baywatch role, Burns appeared in several
episodes of Ally McBeal, where she played a fictional character in
Calista Flockhart's delusions. At 22 she discovered she was pregnant
and decided to leave Baywatch. The father was recent husband Julian
McMahon of the WB show, Charmed. Their daughter, baby Madison, was
born in 2000. The next year she and McMahon divorced. The same year
Brooke took a small yet significant role in the 2001 comedy Shallow
Hal, where she played a woman whose inner beauty transforms her into a
goddess.
She then appeared in a celebrity edition of Fear Factor, where she
leapt on top of a speeding double-decker bus. Impressed with her
charisma and sense of adventure, producers from NBC asked her to sign
on as host of a new reality show/game show. She took the position and
has hosted the short-lived American version of the Dog Eat Dog game
show for two summer seasons in 2002 and 2003. The show had great
Nielsen ratings since its debut in 2002.
Just recently, she got a starring role in the fox prime-time soap
opera drama series North Shore playing "Nicole Booth", the director of
guest relations at an exclusive hawaiian hotel. She will soon be seen
in the upcoming film Death to the supermodels.
Burns also appeared on Just Shoot Me, To Tell the Truth, and Average
Joe: Hawaii.
Brooke was engaged to Bruce Willis from 2003 until June 2, 2004, when
they broke the engagement due to trouble maintaining a long-distance
relationship.
Currently, she resides in the Los Angeles suburbs and still enjoys
dancing on a regular basis. She loves the outdoors, swimming and
writing poetry & songs. She is also active in the Planet Hope and Camp
Baywatch charities.