Summary
- Yasmine Bleeth, known for her role as Caroline Holden on Baywatch, struggled with addiction but has quietly made a return to acting in 2021.
- Bleeth's character faced intense storylines on Baywatch, from failed rescues to sibling tragedy, showcasing her range as an actress.
- Despite her challenges with addiction, Bleeth has reemerged in the acting world with new roles, showing resilience and dedication to her craft.
Yasmine Bleeth was once a major star thanks to her role on Baywatch but has since disappeared from the public eye. The 1989 BaywatchTV show, which led to the ill-advised 2017 movie, was an 11-season primetime soap opera about a team of lifeguards who patrol the beaches of California (and Hawaii in seasons 10 and 11). The guards face the expected ocean dangers such as drownings, shark attacks, and dangerous weather, but they also experience conflicts more befitting an HBO crime drama, like serial killers and thieves, all of which they end up being responsible for.
Baywatch is well known for its large ensemble, but a few actors emerged as fan-favorites and became synonymous with the series. Some fans are all about David Hasselhoff as Mitch Buchannon, while others prefer Pamela Anderson as C. J. Parker. Still, others have a soft spot for Yasmine Bleeth as Caroline Holden, and those fans, like many, are probably wondering what happened to the actor after Baywatch.
Related
Baywatch was one of the most iconic TV shows of the 1990s, and was led by David Hasselhoff's Mitch, but the character eventually died and came back.
Yasmine Bleeth Played Caroline Holden On Baywatch
Caroline Was Stephanie's Younger Sister
Caroline Holden arrived on Baywatch in season 4 as a guest star before becoming a main cast member in seasons 5 through 7, then dropping to a recurring character in season 8 before leaving the show until the 2003 made-for-television reunion movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. She also appeared in season 1, episode 16, "The Curator", of Baywatch Nights, a spinoff series that had little to do with the originalBaywatch. Bleeth's first appearance on Baywatch came in season 4, episode 7, "Tentacles, Part II".
She arrives to tell her older sister Stephanie (Alexandra Paul), that she's engaged to a man named Frank Randall (Joe Lara). Caroline then returns in season 5 to say she and Frank have called off the engagement, and she's come to work at her sister's beach. There, she moves in with Stephanie and C.J., who becomes her best friend. Caroline also develops a relationship with Logan Fowler (Jaason Simmons) that lasts through most of season 6. After Logan proposes to Caroline, she breaks off the relationship when she catches him kissing another guard.
One of Caroline's major storylines comes in season 6 when she fails to save a drowning victim, Thomas O'Hara (Barry Watson), who had been drunk on a boat with his friends. The incident traumatizes Caroline and sends her on a self-destructive path. Caroline overcomes this trauma when she's put in a position to save another drunk swimmer, and she makes her peace with Thomas and the other lifeguards, rejoining the patrol. Season 7 sees calamity strike for Caroline when her sister tragically dies and Thomas' mother sues her for his death.
It's at the end of this season, after assuaging Thomas' mother and dealing with her sister's death, that Caroline leaves to pursue her acting career in NYC. In season 8, she returns to the beach seemingly having failed in her pursuit, but the end of the season reveals she got the long-awaited lead role in a soap opera, and she leaves for NYC for good. A young guard on the beach, Caroline is a bit stubborn, but Bleeth plays her with kindness and warmth, which helps explain why many of her friends are always looking out for her.
One of the younger characters on Baywatch, it always seemed like more of a mystery where Caroline would end up and Bleeth's can-do performance made it feel like anything was possible for the young guard. Like some of the most notable Baywatch stars, Yasmine Bleeth became a household name. She was consistently mentioned on Friends by Joey and Chandler, who loved watching the series and had a particular appreciation for Caroline Holden and Yasmine Bleeth.
Bleeth Has Been Candid About Her Struggles With Addiction
Yasmine Bleeth Was In A Drug-Induced Car Accident
Unfortunately, the intense spotlight that a role like Caroline Holden can power ended up being too much for Yasmine Bleeth. In September of 2001, Bleeth and her future husband, Paul Cerrito, drove their car onto a median in Detroit and when police investigated, they found four syringes with liquid form cocaine (via E!). Later searches at her hotel revealed more cocaine and other narcotic paraphernalia. Bleeth had met her husband a year prior when she checked herself into rehab in 2000 at the celebrity center, Promises (via EW).
As it turns out, Bleeth was abusing drugs well before 2000. In a February 2003 issue of Glamour, Bleeth chronicled her history of addiction and the road to recovery. She admits in the article (via News19),
"I never expected to get into drugs."
In 1998, Bleeth began using cocaine, only during social events, but her use quickly became an addiction. Bleeth describes how easy it was to order cocaine (via The List),
"It was like ordering Chinese food. I made one phone call, and they delivered it to my front door."
Bleeth also describes her dramatic weight loss that saw her drop from a size 6 to a 0. She stopped seeing friends, had frequent bloody noses, and even collapsed at a July 2000 Glamour photo shoot. It was around that time she decided to check herself into rehab. It was also long past clear to the producers of Baywatch that Bleeth would not be able to continue in her role. In an oral history with Esquire about Baywatch, one of the show's creators, Douglas Schwartz, said,
"We had one issue with Yasmine Bleeth, who was doing drugs at the time, and so we were dealing with Yasmine not showing up and having difficulties, again with men. That's why we let Yasmine go off the show: because it was too difficult to deal with her after awhile."
Bleeth was sentenced to two years of probation and had to submit to regular drug tests. She spent the next few months at Cerrito's mother's house in Michigan, staying away from drugs and, critically, eating. She claims she gained 20 pounds, returning to what she hoped was a healthier weight. She had a mature view on her recovery, saying in Glamour,
"[I am] consciously trying to stay off drugs is now part of my life and always will be."
It takes a lot of self-reflection and confidence to understand that her battle with addiction is a lifelong fight and will always be something she needs to be strong about. Apparently, she has been. In that oral history, showrunner Michael Berk said,
"Yasmine basically retired. She ended up getting into some drug problems but meeting a guy in drug rehab, and she's basically retired. I know she gets offers that she turns down. She was an actress at the time she was a little girl, she was very smart with her money, and I think she invested well."
Bleeth slipped out of the spotlight elegantly and, as far as anyone was concerned in the 2010s, she was living a safe and happy life.
Bleeth Has Quietly Returned To Acting
Yasmine Bleeth Had Her First Role Since Baywatch Hawaiian Wedding
However, there is some news about Yasmine Bleeth, and fortunately, it's of the good variety. Just as Bleeth quietly exited acting in the early 2000s, she quietly reentered in Whack the Don, a small 2021 comedy directed by William Dear, who also directed Angels in the Outfield. Bleeth plays Lola, her first role in nearly two decades, costarring with Lillo Brancato and Tom Sizemore. She also has upcoming parts in the crime mystery Kill with Me with Tori Spelling and Andy Dick and the horror film Beautiful Evil.
Bleeth's return to acting is unexpected but highly appreciated. Seeing her overcome the addictions of her early career years during Baywatch, live a full life, and return to something she loves is inspiring. What's more, the man she crashed her car with, in 2001, Paul Cerrito, has been her husband for over two decades (via DailyMail), and the two no doubt have been each other's biggest supporters over the years.
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Baywatch (1989)
TV-PG
Drama
Baywatch is a drama series released in 1998 and follows the iconic lifeguards of Los Angeles County. The series follows Mitch Buchannon and his team of lifeguards who keep the lives of California beachgoers safe while often dabbling in steamy romances, tense action sequences, and all the drama that comes with the territory.
- Cast
- David Hasselhoff , Pamela Anderson , Alexandra Paul , Gregory Alan Williams , Parker Stevenson , Billy Warlock , Erika Eleniak , Yasmine Bleeth
- Release Date
- September 22, 1989
- Seasons
- 11
- Creator(s)
- Michael Berk , Douglas Schwartz , Gregory J. Bonann
