Brooke Burns (born March 16, 1978 in Dallas, Texas), is an American model and television and motion picture actress probably best known for her role on Baywatch and Baywatch Hawaii.

Brooke was the middle child of three siblings. Since kindergarten, her dream was to become a ballet dancer. Her mother encouraged her from a young age to pursue this. Unfortunately, a serious ski accident prevented Burns’ from accomplishing this; she was unable to perform the flexible moves needed to become a top tier dancer. Then, her mother sent her to do some modeling as a back-up plan.

At 16 years old, still in high school, Brooke began to appear in European and American fashion magazines.

She started appearing in commercials for Mug Root Beer and popular restaurants. Her appearances translated into a successful audition for Out of the Blue, a show filmed on location at Sea World, in Orlando, Florida. After this, she decided to move to Los Angeles.

She got an audition for a role on Baywatch and while she didn’t get the part, she got her big break when she was called back to fill a permanent role as Jessie Owens.

She developed a cult following on Baywatch and Baywatch Hawaii. In addition to her Baywatch role, Burns appeared in several episodes of Ally McBeal, where she played a fictional character in Calista Flockhart’s delusions