Yasmine Bleeth (born June 14, 1968) is an American actress and model. Her television roles include Caroline Holden on Baywatch, Ryan Fenelli on Ryan's Hope, and LeeAnn Demerest on One Life to Live.
Early life and career
Bleeth was born in New York City, the daughter of Carina, a model, and Philip Bleeth, a business proprietor. Her father Philip is of Russian-Jewish and German-Jewish descent. Her mother was a Pied-Noir from Algeria, with French ancestry; she was Catholic. Phil Bleeth was associated with a group of friends that included Arlo Guthrie and Alice Brock (of "Alice's Restaurant" fame) around the time of Yasmine's birth. Yasmine's earliest known acting role was in a Johnson & Johnson's No More Tears baby shampoo television commercial at age 10 months in 1969. At the age of six, she appeared on Candid Camera. Later that year she appeared in a Max Factor cosmetic advertising campaign with model Cristina Ferrare. Her work in this campaign caught the eye of fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo, who subsequently included her and her mother in his book entitled Scavullo Women.
Total Film magazine quoted Bleeth stating, "When I was a little girl I used to have to force boys to kiss me. My toughest friend had to hold them down."
In 1980, 12-year-old Bleeth was cast her first film role, opposite Buddy Hackett in the feature film Hey Babe!. In 1983, she was in a commercial with Puerto Rican group Menudo. At age 16, she began appearing as grown up Ryan Fenelli on the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope in February 1985 until the soap's final episode on January 13, 1989. A few months after that show's 1989 cancellation, Bleeth's mother, Carina Bleeth, was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. She died within a year at the age of 47, after which Bleeth dealt with her grief, thus: "I stayed home, watching cooking shows, taking walks." She turned down acting offers for eight months, but then won the role of LeeAnn Demerest on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live.
Later career
Bleeth's role of Caroline Holden on Baywatch brought her widespread attention. People named her one of magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1995. She was one of FHM'"s 100 Sexiest Women in the World every year from 1996 to 2001, and FHM'"s U.S. 100 Sexiest Women every year from 2000 to 2003. As a result of her role in Baywatch, Bleeth was offered other roles in television and film. She has been a featured actress in five series and has guest-starred in other shows. During her television career, she continued to work as a model, frequently appearing in swimwear or lingerie. She once had her own line of swimwear called Yaz Wear. From 1998 to 2000, Bleeth played the role of inspector Caitlin Cross on Nash Bridges.
Bleeth accepted a starring role in the short-lived series Titans in 2000. Aaron Spelling was so eager to cast Bleeth in the role of a vixen on Titans that his company convinced CBS to grant her an early release from her Nash Bridges contract. In an interview with Dennis Hensley, she said she delighted in her over-the-top depiction of a crazed beauty queen in the 1997 TV film Crowned and Dangerous. She said, "I keep my crown from that film on my desk in a little Lucite box. My little brother tried it on once, and I screamed at him, 'Take it off! Take it off!' I get a little nasty about my crown."
She is mentioned in popular TV series Friends multiple times, especially by Chandler and Joey.
Following her first effort in a drug rehabilitation clinic in late 2000 (see below), Bleeth only shot one more performance, the 2003 television film Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.
Bleeth eventually made her comeback after a lengthy hiatus with a 2021 indie comedy Whack the Don.
