Who plays CJ in Baywatch?

CJ Parker is one of Baywatch’s most iconic characters. So, who plays the fan-favorite lifeguard on the big and small screens?

CJ first appeared in Baywatch Season 3. An ex-Baywatch member, she was convinced to rejoin the team and quickly re-established herself as one of its most capable lifeguards.

Her five-season stint on the show also boasted plenty of on-land drama, culminating in an off-screen wedding. Fans later witnessed CJ’s second marriage, to resort waiter Lorenzo, in the 2003 made-for-TV reunion movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

A different incarnation of CJ also appears in the 2017 Baywatch movie. Taking place in its own continuity, this poorly received flick paired CJ with rookie lifeguard Ronnie Greenbaum.

Who plays CJ in Baywatch?

Pamela Anderson plays CJ Parker in the Baywatch TV series, while Kelly Rohrbach portrays her in the 2017 movie.

Anderson also cameos in the Baywatch movie as Captain Casey Jean Parker. This – coupled with her return in Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding – seemingly refutes persistent rumors Anderson exited Baywatch on a contentious note. It also tracks with Anderson’s 2023 autobiography, in which the star insists she left Baywatch to focus on her family.

That said, Anderson’s book (as noted by Variety) included several not-so-flattering passages about her time on the series. Notably, the CJ Parker actor expressed misgivings over how little financial stake she had in Baywatch’s success.

“The producers of Baywatch made a fortune,” Anderson wrote. “I just didn’t have the representation back then. Or the know-how. You don’t realize when you’re doing a TV show that it’s going to be that popular, so you kind of sign your life away.”

Anderson was also critical about her experience with the Baywatch movie, accusing Paramount of badgering her into accepting a small salary for her cameo.

“It was becoming really, really awful,” she recalled. “They said they wanted me to do it as a favor. I said, ‘I do favors for animals, not for Paramount.’ There was just so much bullying to do it. They wanted me to do it for free, as an homage or something. I said, ‘Come on, guys. I mean, really?'”

At the same time, Anderson also acknowledged that her actual time on set was painless. “I ended up OK. No complaints,” she stated.

Is Baywatch 2 still happening?

Anderson’s feelings towards Baywatch notwithstanding, don’t expect to see her – or Rohrbach – suit up as CJ Parker again anytime soon. While Paramount Pictures greenlit Baywatch 2 in May 2017, the studio reportedly axed the project in February 2023.

Little is known about Baywatch 2’s intended story, although Rohrbach and her co-stars (including Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron) were all slated to reprise their roles. Producer Beau Flynn also hinted that the follow-up flick would’ve followed the show’s lead and shifted the sequel’s setting.

“We just have this really cool idea to put them in this whole new world,” Flynn told Variety in 2017. “We would take it overseas.”