‘Baywatch’ star Yasmine Bleeth disappeared completely and looks dramatically different today

However, it was her performance as lifeguard Caroline Holden in the 1990s smash TV series “Baywatch” that propelled Yasmine Bleeth to international recognition.

“Baywatch” became a worldwide sensation, and Yasmine’s portrayal of a tough and capable girl who was frequently at the center of spectacular rescues garnered her thousands of fans.

Her appearance on the show not only highlighted her acting abilities, but also established her as an enduring icon of beauty and empowerment. Yasmine’s involvement to the cultural phenomenon that was “Baywatch” established her as a television icon.

Despite her early success, Yasmine Bleeth’s career was marred by personal difficulties, including addiction concerns. Her ability to overcome these obstacles, as well as her subsequent dedication to her well-being and personal progress, demonstrate her tenacity and determination.

Yasmine’s legacy lives on as a monument to her brilliance and courage, inspiring people who have appreciated her personal development and triumph.

Back in the ‘90s, the stunning actress Yasmine Bleeth had the world at her feet. She was young, beautiful, talented, and one of the biggest stars on TV – portraying Caroline Holden on Baywatch.

But how many people have heard of Yasmine after her breakthrough on Baywatch? Not so many, I would assume. And there are several reasons for this – some of which are both tragic and heartbreaking to learn…

The former Baywatch bombshell Yasmine Bleeth has lived a very dramatic life, and it all started in New York City, where she was born in 1968.

As a 10-month-old, Yasmine landed her first acting job. Back in 1969, she appeared in a commercial for Johnson & Johnson’s No More Tears baby shampoo, so it was no doubt which career she would pursue.

Her father, Philip, was a business proprietor and hung out with Arlo Guthrie and Alice Brock. Yasmine’s mother, Carina, was a Pied-Noir from Algeria, and judging from old photos, it is clear from whom Yasmine got her looks.

Thanks to her model mother, Yasmine was discovered by the famous fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo. Scavullo, who discovered Brooke Shields when she was seven months old, found Yasmine Bleeth while working with Carina.

The fashion photographer rented mobile homes from Carina’s company for his photoshoots and first laid eyes on Yasmine when she was six.

In his photobook “Scavullo Women,” the legendary photographer decided to include Yasmine and her mother.

 

 

“He thought my mother was one of the most beautiful women in the world,” Yasmine told Hartford Courant in 2004.

Even though Yasmine became an actress at a young age and was used to being in the public eye, it didn’t mean that she was popular among the boys of her age. Instead, she had to take the matter into her own hands.

 

 

“When I was a little girl I used to have to force boys to kiss me. My toughest friend had to hold them down,” she told Total Film magazine in 1998.

Yasmine grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her parents broke up when she was very young, and as a young girl, she was mainly brought up by her mom. But Yasmine was also very close to her father, a life-long New Yorker who was 22 when he had Yasmine.

“I was lucky, even though my parents split up when I was young, they became friends later on and that made it easy for me. He (her dad) only moved three blocks away after the divorce,” Yasmine told Daily News.

After starring in her first movie at age 12, the young actress went on to appear in the daytime soap opera Ryan’s Hope between 1985-1989.

Yasmine moved out when she was 17 but suffered a terrible blow a couple of years later when her mom got diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.

Tragically, her mother Carina passed away at age 47, and Yasmine was devasted. Dealing with her grief, she turned down every job offer for almost a year.

“I stayed home, watching cooking shows, taking walks,” she said.

Yasmine Bleeth on Baywatch

Even these days, Yasmine Bleeth is mostly known for her role as Caroline Holden on Baywatch. As one of the iconic bikini-clad ladies running along Santa Monica beach in California, she instantly got a major breakthrough.

The iconic series was extremely popular during the 90s, and Yasmine made her debut in season four. It started as a guest appearance, but the bodacious brunette got a permanent spot for the following three seasons.

You might believe that Yasmine auditioned for the role among thousands of others, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, the producers called her up and asked her to be on the show.

But it was not evident that Yasmine would say yes. She was just at the start of her career as an actress and model. Yasmine was worried about how a potential role in Baywatch would affect her reputation and future.

Once again, she turned to her dad for advice.

“They called me up, he was with me the whole process and gave me a lot of advice. He grew up surrounded by models, who wore less than I do on the show,” she said.

Yasmine, who became a series regular and fan favorite, appeared in 72 episodes of Baywatch. The show kickstarted her rise to stardom and brought her attention from around the world. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Baywatch was the most-watched TV show on the planet for a while.

People Magazine listed her as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in 1995,” and Yasmine got a lot of modeling jobs, she even got her own swimwear line.

When Yasmine left the series, a lot of directors and producers reached out to her. Yasmine starred as the sexy inspector Caitlin Cross on the TV series Nash Bridges, which aired on CBS between 1998-2000.

By the time she was cast in a starring role on the series Titans, in 2000, it had become clear that Yasmine Bleeth was struggling on a personal level.

Outwardly, it looked like Yasmine was feeling well and living a dream life as an actress, but the truth was that she was fighting an addiction that kept her captive in her own body.

Her addiction went hand in hand with her professional downfall. Her behavior got her blacklisted by many colleagues in the industry.

In 2003, she made a brief appearance in the TV movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding, but that became Yasmine’s last onscreen appearance. Since then, she has not been in a single film or series. It became very quiet around Yasmine Bleeth.

So what really happened to her?

Dating & romances

According to her, everything started when she met Richard Grieco.

Actor Richard Grieco and Yasmine Bleeth met back in 1996 and started dating. The couple was engaged for 2 years and starred together in the movie Ultimate Deception in 1999.

According to some sources, Yasmine also dated Friends actor Matthew Perry for a couple of weeks in the 90s. Grieco wasn’t happy when he heard about the romance and sent Yasmine 100 red roses and a diamond ring to show his love for her, Philadelphia Daily News reported in 1996.

The relationship with Grieco crashed in 2000 and according to Yasmine, she was in a very bad place – both mentally and emotionally. That’s why she turned to substances, it was a way to make her “feel good again.”

After a while, that was all she thought about: getting home and doing lines. While starring in Nash Bridges, she developed another desire.

“I’d spend hours plucking my eyebrows, putting on tanning cream, doing a facial. But mostly, I’d shop on the internet. I’d order from Saks Fifth Avenue or Neiman Marcus or Bluefly. It was the biggest joke–I bought all these beautiful things, but I never went out. Forget the money I was spending on drugs–I’d spend literally $5,000 to $10,000 in one night shopping on the Web! I was obsessed. Shopping was instant gratification,” she told Glamour magazine in 2003.

Collapse and downfall

During these years, Yasmine stopped seeing friends and stopped answering her phone. While on set, she was sober. But her colleagues couldn’t help to notice that something was wrong.

“I got a bloody nose on the set a couple of times, but the makeup artist would just hand me a tissue without saying a word and I’d clean it up. If I sounded stuffed up in the morning, I’d give myself a facial or I’d go to the steam room to detoxify my body. And if I was sniffling, my publicist would tell people I had sinus problems, which I do,” she said.