Baywatch Star Responds to Pamela Anderson Rivalry Rumors and Surgery Regrets

Nicole Eggert was one of the many young stars of Baywatch to don the iconic red swimsuit in the 1990s, but behind the scenes things were not quite as sunny as the beaches of Los Angeles County, California appeared to be. In a revealing interview with People, Eggert shared her thoughts on what it was like to be an 18-year-old in what should have been a dream job, but which instead made her feel exploited, awkward and saw her undergo breast enhancement surgery all thanks to the need to fill out that iconic red swimsuit.

Now 52, Eggert recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer, and has been opening up about her time on Baywatch. This includes the fact she did not actually intend being in the drama series as a lifeguard and thought she was auditioning for a spin-off series set in a Malibu high school. On discovering the truth, including finding out that most of her day would be spent in that swimsuit, she said:

“I was like, ‘Oh, sh-t. All the girls worked out and were super tiny and fit and I was like ‘Whoops.’ And the one-piece bathing suits were not flattering. I didn’t want to wear it at all. It just wasn’t what I signed up for. It was a totally different show and ballgame and not where I wanted to be.”

Feeling insecure about her appearance led to Eggert taking the drastic decision to undergo breast enhancement surgery at the age of 18, something that she now regrets and doesn’t feel any young woman should have to do. She continued:

“I regret it now, of course. I look at all these younger girls doing it and think, ‘God, leave your bodies alone!’ But when you have to put on that one-piece and it’s like you’re so flat that it’s like pleating — you got pleats across the front… You’re like, ‘What is this?’ Nothing you can do. You can’t stuff it with anything. You can’t do anything. It was a stupid 18 year old decision.”

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Nicole Eggert On Pamela Anderson

Over the years, there have been many rumors of the female cast of Baywatch being jealous of Pamela Anderson. This included one of the show’s producers claiming that Eggert’s desire to compete with Anderson led to her getting her breast operation without the knowledge of anyone on the show, something she now refutes.

“Those guys — they really like to make stuff up. It was on downtime from the show, and they knew [about my surgery]. I always knew Pamela was prettier and more natural. I kind of wondered why she always did so much makeup. But it was her thing and the look she was going for. It was the image she wanted to portray, so it worked for her,”

Eggert explores the way Baywatch impacted some of its big-name stars in a new documentary, Baywatch: The American Dream, which she produced and appears in with other “top-billed” actors who share their own stories about the struggles they faced being part of the series.