When Nicole Eggert starred in a TV show Baywatch in the ’90s, she was just 18 — and miserable.
The former actress, who played Summer Quinn, spent most of her time on the show scantily clad and running along the beach with her hair blowing in the wind.
She thought she had found her dream role, but Eggert wasn’t ready for the scrutiny that came with it. “I had to get away from it,” says the actress, now 52, during a wide-ranging exclusive interview with PEOPLE at a dinner in Los Angeles. (Days before, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer, which she publicly shared with fans earlier this month.)
She felt that the series was exploiting her body and appearance and was already feeling emotionally fragile. Six years ago, Eggert claimed she was abused by her ex Charles in Charles actor Scott Baio – who has repeatedly denied her claims – starting at the age of 14.
Start of Baywatch, filming started at five in the morning during the winter months, she recalls, and each day became more tiring. The repetitive, sexy slow-motion shots of a leggy, cherry-red bodysuit were awkward and uncomfortable for her to shoot.
During her first day of filming in 1992, Eggert was shocked. “Oh my god, are we going to be in bathing suits all day every day?” he remembers thinking.
Then he hit her. “I was like, ‘Oh, s—,'” she says, recalling her ordeal. Eggert thought she had auditioned for a spin-off series for kids at a Malibu high school.
He now says he didn’t know he was going to be a Baywatch lifeguard: “All the girls were working out and they were super tiny and fit and I was like ‘Oops.’ And the one-piece swimsuits were not flattering. I didn’t want to wear it at all.”
“It just wasn’t what I wrote about. It was a whole different show and ball game and not where I wanted to be,” he says, adding that he chose to leave. Baywatch after two seasons.
While Eggert grew up on the beaches of Southern California and was one of the cast’s strongest swimmers, she felt insecure about her appearance and sexuality.
While on a break from filming, Eggert decided to get breast implants at the age of 18. “I regret it now, of course,” he says.
“I look at all these smaller girls doing it and I think, ‘Oh my God, leave your bodies alone!’ But when you have to wear this bodysuit and it’s like you’re so flat it’s like pressing — you have pleats in the front…” she continues. You say, “What is this?” You can’t do anything. You can’t fill it with anything. You can not do anything.”
As she matured, she began to question the motivations behind her choice and the impact it had on her body image. “It was a stupid 18-year-old decision,” she says, reflecting on going under the knife.
She has since had multiple breast augmentations and in 2015 appeared on E! reality show Bad to reduce her breasts.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in July 2016, BaywatchIts original producers Michael Burke and Douglas Schwartz spoke about the show, which was later adapted into a 2017 film starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.
“[Nicole Eggert] I felt a little competitive with Pam,” Burke told the publication. “There was a holiday weekend and she was calling in sick for a couple of days afterwards. Then he showed up back on set getting a chest job.”
Now, Eggert disputes Burke’s claims. She insists she never felt competitive with Anderson and never called in sick. “These kids — they really like to make things,” he says. “It was in the show’s downtime and they knew [about my surgery].”
As for Anderson, Eggert says she’s always admired her natural beauty. “I always knew Pamela was prettier and more natural. I kind of wondered why she always wore so much makeup. But it was her own thing and the look she wanted. It was the image she wanted to portray, so it worked for her,” she says. “And I always feel that however you feel comfortable, whatever makes you feel good, do it. And for her, she wore a lot of makeup. Was it like beach makeup for me? “Oh, that’s gross,” you know what I mean?
At the height of its popularity, Baywatch – which ran for 11 seasons – brought in 1.1 billion weekly views worldwide, eventually earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most-watched television show of all time.
More than 30 years later, Eggert is now ready to share her ups and downs in a new documentary detailing her experiences on the beach series.
With the help of director Matthew Felker, Eggert is producing and starring in the upcoming documentary, Baywatch: The American Dreamwhich dives deeper into the pop culture phenomenon and features top cast members who also open up about their personal struggles and thoughts on the long-running syndicated show.
Now a single mother raising two daughters, Keegan, 12, and Dilyn, 25, Eggert—who has never been married (Keegan’s father is Eggert’s ex, actor Justin Herwick; she has never publicly confirmed who Dilyn’s father) – says she has made peace with her past and is focusing on her future as she copes with a cancer diagnosis.
“I think that experience definitely hindered me a little bit and my mental health and my self-awareness and how I felt about myself,” she says of her allegations against Baio. “I think it was damaging and made me very insecure and just not comfortable in my own skin.”
“That, on top of being young and being in the public eye and people always watching me, made me constantly insecure,” she continues. “But I’m glad the truth is out there now. I’m proud of myself.”