List of Baywatch characters

Characters table

''Baywatch'' (1989–1990; 1991–1999)

Main Cast

• Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon ; - Mitch is the lead lifeguard who in the pilot received a promotion to lieutenant. He has a son called Hobie with his former wife Gayle. Due to Gayle's new job requiring frequent travel for the first year, it was decided Hobie would stay with Mitch while she moved to Ohio. His brother, Buzzy, is living in San Diego with his son. A con artist he helped dies and leaves her daughter to Mitch. Mitch decides to adopt the girl, Joey. Joey's grandparents are eventually found and Joey begrudgingly goes to live with them. Note: In the 2017 Baywatch feature film, he is played by Dwayne Johnson.
• Craig Pomeroy ; - Craig was a lawyer as well as a lifeguard, however part way through Season 1, he quits from the law firm he was working for to become a full-time lifeguard at Baywatch. He then set-up his own private practice so he could continue to be a lawyer from home and still lifeguard but then left after Season 1 to start a family away from Los Angeles. Craig is married to Gina Pomeroy in Season 1. In Season 2 it is revealed via a letter to Mitch that they moved to Connecticut and Craig is working as a lawyer in New York. Craig returns to LA to defend a Chumash elder who is preparing his deathbed. Mitch is able to coerce out of Craig, what's going on with Gina and it is discovered that they are separated for a few months due to falling apart. Gina remained in Washington DC and Craig returned to LA for a fresh start. Thereafter, he begins a relationship with lifeguard April Giminski.
• Jill Riley ; was the most experienced female lifeguard on the service, she trained Shauni McClain on how to become a better lifeguard and was respected by all of her friends at Baywatch. She died from blood embolism caused by a shark attack.
• Eddie Kramer ; - Eddie began life on Baywatch as a teenager with a complicated background. He moved out to LA from Philadelphia, PA. Being placed into the foster care system at a very early age, he learned to look out for himself and took up boxing, which got him into trouble quite a few times while in his first year on Baywatch. Eddie is homeless at first but is helped out by fellow lifeguard Craig Pomeroy whom he and his wife, Gina, invited Eddie to live with them and they took on the role as surrogate parents that Eddie never had from being in foster care. When the Pomeroys left at the end of Season 1, Eddie was able to secure a place of his own and developed a relationship with fellow lifeguard Shauni McClain. Even though Shauni's father didn't approve of his daughter dating a lifeguard even though she was one herself. When Eddie saved his other daughter's life, he still didn't respect him, but despite this, they eventually married and moved to Australia. In season 2, Billy was moved from a regular cast member to supporting lead, replacing Stevenson. He would remain there until his departure along with Erika in the beginning of Season 3. After his departure in 1992, Warlock explained his departure was voluntary as he had been unhappy with the direction Baywatch had taken. Warlock later reprised his character for one episode in the spin-off series, Baywatch Nights in 1996 and also in the 2003 television movie, '.
• Shauni McClain ; - Shauni started out the series as a spoiled rich girl and was a complete rookie when she started out as a lifeguard with Baywatch, being scared of people drowning and freezing up when people needed CPR. Seeing her potential Mitch put under the wing of experienced senior lifeguard Jill Riley, where she became confident in her abilities. After Jill died due to a Shark attack it affected Shauni quite a lot as the two had become close friends. She also fell for her colleague Eddie Kramer, after the two got together she realised what a brat she seemed and mellowed. It was also revealed that her father disapproved of her vocation thinking she was just sitting around the beach all day doing nothing of importance. When he saw her doing rescue he realised how important her job was, however, he did not approve of Shauni dating Eddie and wanted her to date someone better. Shauni disowned her dad and then married Eddie and moved to Australia with him for a Lifeguard exchange program.
• Note: Their onscreen chemistry and romance became real for a time. Erika Eleniak played in 44 episodes of the first and second seasons, and first two episodes of the third season, she was the show's female mainstay from 1989 until 1992. It was reported by both producers and Erika herself that her departure was due to her dislike for the direction the show was taking.
• Trevor Cole ; ; Trevor was a cocky and arrogant clubhouse lifeguard who would rather save beautiful women than anyone else in trouble. After a boat party that left his then-girlfriend fighting for her life, he realized how little about life-guarding he actually knew. When Mitch made a suggestion to his bosses that he should be county certified, he joined Baywatch Rookie School where he passed top of his class. During his time as an L.A county lifeguard, Cole made a number of preventions, earning the respect of his colleagues and those superior to him. Towards the end of his stay at Baywatch, there were hints of a romance between him and Jill Riley, but Cole was absent the day Jill died from a shark attack and Phelps left the show the episode later. All the while his disappearance was not addressed in the show. It's assumed that Cole went back home as he had previously expressed interest in returning to Sydney, Australia.
• Hobie Buchannon - the son of Mitch Buchannon; through his time on the show, the audience sees him grow up from a young boy of 12 to adult. He later forms a romantic relationship with his long-time crush, Summer Quinn. His parents are divorced and his mom, Gayle appears in several episodes. According to Hasselhoff, the role almost went to Leonardo DiCaprio. He would follow in his father's footsteps and go on to become a life guard and rookie of the year.
• Don Thorpe ; - A Senior lifeguard with the rank of Captain. By Season 5 Don Thorpe had become Chief of the department. He makes Captain by Season 6. He appears in the 2017 Baywatch feature film, he is played by Rob Huebel.
• Gina Pomeroy - Craig's loving and supporting wife.
• Garner Ellerbee ; - A good friend of the lifeguards. A police officer who patrols the beach but hates the water. He appears in the 2017 Baywatch feature film, where he is played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
• John D. Cort ; - A former lifeguard who appears and disappears from time to time and was rather dodgy and often got Mitch in trouble with illegal money-making schemes. He had a close friendship with Eddie Krammer and started a relationship with C.J. Parker but eventually succumbed to blindness. Trent ropes Mitch in to competing in the Baja Run. His last episode was Deep Trouble.
• Harvey Miller ; A quiet, introverted lifeguard who often had lofty dreams of seducing beautiful women who were way out of his league. He would also try his hand at being an entrepreneur coming up with get-rich-quick schemes any chance he could.
• Ben Edwards ; - Edwards was part of the first team of lifeguards at Baywatch, known as 'The Red Knights'. He was the longest serving lifeguard at Baywatch and retired in 1994. Ben had a close relationship with Mitch Buchannon, and served as a mentor to him. Sometime before the series started, Ben had crushed his hip when he jumped from a height of 100 feet to save a drowning fisherman. He was unable to swim after this injury and required the use of a walking cane. Captain Thorpe promoted Ben to lieutenant instead of firing him. He was eventually promoted to captain, after Thorpe's departure. The day he resigned, he made his final rescue when he jumped off a pier to save a young boy. He was then happy to 'go out on top'.
• Note: Jaeckel played another character, also a veteran lifeguard, named Al Gibson, in the 1989 pilot TV movie, released the Spring before the first season. The Al Gibson character is being forced into retirement in the pilot, but dies at the end of the movie heroically saving a child.
• Roberta "Summer" Quinn ; - Summer and her mother, Jackie, moved to California from Pittsburgh, PA to escape Jackie's abusive ex-boyfriend. They traveled across the country in their trailer and set up home in a local trailer park. Summer was a star athlete in her hometown winning many awards for swimming. Her mother's ex-boyfriend tracked them down and confronted Summer. When he began to get physical with her, Matt Brody stepped in and stopped him. This was the start of a long friendship between the two. Later, with the help of C.J. Parker, Summer overcame bulimia. Summer and Matt became quite close and formed a relationship. They ultimately broke up and Summer left to pursue her education at a Penn State. She nearly died in a boat accident, having to be given CPR to bring her back. She is a main character in the 2017 Baywatch feature film, where she is played by Alexandra Daddario.
• Matt Brody ; - Matt's stern father give Matt an ultimate: go to France with him or stay in LA and support himself. Stephanie and CJ allow Matt to couch surf for a short time. Matt had a long-term relationship with Summer Quinn in the fourth season ; She was a whitewater rafting instructor. She is a lover of animals. Early on in her life she battled bulimia and helped Summer overcome her battle with bulimia as well. She was very much in love with Matt, unfortunately she was not able to keep him at Baywatch, and Matt left on his own accord. She was absent for the first six episodes of season 6 while she spent time with Matt. Her last appearance was in the Season 7 finale "Nevermore". A strongly dedicated lifeguard who is also the object of desire from several men on the beach. Eventually left Baywatch and married a rock singer in Mexico, but unfortunately, it didn't last. She later opened up a Beach café in Hawaii and married one of her waiters Lorenzo. UGO.com voted C.J. Parker one of the top 10 blondes. She is a main character in the 2017 Baywatch feature film, where she is played by Kelly Rohrbach.
• Jimmy Slade ; - Jimmy Slade was a main character during the third season and had a gift for surfing. He was constantly trying to become a professional surfer and had a romantic relationship with Summer Quinn. He had a very strict, abusive military father, whom he did not get along with, and a mother who abandoned him. Due to his family circumstances, he lived alone on the beach in his van. He eventually did break into the professional circuit and left Baywatch to move to Hawaii to surf on the North Shore.
• Stephanie Holden ; - Stephanie was seven years old, her father died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam. This affected her deeply and she developed a huge fear of helicopters. Stephanie was eventually abandoned by her mother and was raised by her grandmother. She developed a romantic relationship with Mitch Buchannon, and the two became very serious. The relationship ended abruptly when Stephanie left Mitch without explanation. Stephanie and Mitch eventually got over their differences and formed a strong friendship. Stephanie went sailing around the world with her fiance, but she ultimately made a decision between love and lifeguarding. She dies from a collapsing mast while on a sailboat during a lightning storm at sea. Alexandra would later reprised her role as the late Stephanie in a second-season episode of the spin-off series, Baywatch Nights in 1997. This scene was a near-death hallucination by Mitch. In 2003, Paul played a Stephanie doppelganger named Alison Ford in the TV-movie, '. She appears in the 2017 Baywatch feature film, where she is played by Ilfenesh Hadera.
• Caroline Holden ; - Stephanie's younger sister who is a determined teenage girl but is also very stubborn especially when it comes to her love life. She divorced her husband and moved in with her sister, Stephanie. She made it her goal to once again re-qualify to become a lifeguard. She had a short fling with JD. Caroline moved on from Baywatch and finally landed an acting spot in New York.
• Logan Fowler - ; first appearance was in the season 5 premiere. He had just recently arrived in California from Tasmania as part of a lifeguard exchange program. He had a reputation as being a top lifeguard in Australia but immediately began to create conflicts with other lifeguards at Baywatch. He did not work well in a team or obey orders from his superiors, this caused him to clash with many of his fellow lifeguards, including Matt Brody and C.J. Parker. He suffered from a childhood memory of watching his father, also a lifeguard, die in the line of duty while saving people from a burning boat, but was unable to escape himself before it exploded. Logan ultimately decides his heart is with movie directing and leaves Baywatch.
• Cody Madison ; - An aspiring Olympic swimmer sidelined by an irregular heartbeat. He grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He had relationships with fellow lifeguards: C.J. Parker and Lani McKenzie. He proposed to CJ. Lani became engaged and her relationship with Cody was no more. Cody stayed in LA.
• Neely Capshaw - Neely was the show's black sheep being in constant conflict with her fellow employees and her bosses, Mitch and Stephanie. She ended up getting romantically involved with her ex-husband, Peter, and getting pregnant. Neely was re-certified as a lifeguard after saving an elderly heart attack victim with CPR following a botched drugstore robbery.. Neely had a very difficult pregnancy and as a result became addicted to pain killers. Through Mitch and Donna's help, Neely is able to kick her addiction. Neely became romantically involved with Mitch and they eventually got married, after which she returned to her conniving ways. Neely is ultimately forced to quite Baywatch. During the Baywatch reunion movie, Neely is last seen trying to get back together with Mitch.
• Mike "Newmie" Newman ; - Another one of Baywatch's longest surviving lifeguards. He played a caricature of himself and continued onto Baywatch: Hawaii.
• Samantha Thomas ; - Samantha was a lifeguard captain and had an elevated position at Baywatch headquarters. Occasionally got on Mitch's nerves and formed a relationship with him. She quit Baywatch to pursue a business venture with her ex-fiance.
• Manny Gutierrez ; - Manny was one of the younger members of Baywatch. He was taken on permanently by Mitch Buchannon following an outstanding physical test. He had a relationship with April, but he ultimately found love with a girl he met in college. Manny was in a life-threatening accident and was in a wheelchair for a significant amount of time.
• Donna Marco ; - D'Errico originally joined the cast of the spin-off series, Baywatch Nights midway through its first season in 1996. Her character became the new owner of the nightclub/bar, Nights, while aspiring to become a lifeguard at Baywatch. During the second season of Baywatch Nights, D'Errico also joined the cast of the parent series, Baywatch, simultaneously appearing on both series during the 1996–1997 season. After the cancellation of Baywatch Nights in 1997, she continued on the original Baywatch series for the 1997–1998 season. She was let go during the Baywatch Bloodbath
• Jordan Tate ; - A strong and dedicated lifeguard. She was a friend of Donna. She was let go during the Baywatch Bloodbath
• Jack "J.D." Darius ; - J.D was one of the few characters to continue into the Baywatch Hawaii era and also appeared in the 2003 reunion movie, '. A failed pier rescue by J.D. resulted in a victim getting crushed and dying in J.D.'s arms. Blaming himself for the death, he suffered PTSD and took time off to deal with it. He had relationships with fellow lifeguards Jessie, Kekoa and Leigh. But eventually got back with Kekoa.
• Lani McKenzie ; - Lani was a lifeguard who also had great dreams of becoming a famous dancer. She became romantically involved with Cody. Cody survived a plane crash on his way to see Lani, performing in New York. She eventually left Baywatch to pursue her dancing career in New York and became engaged to someone else. Electra crossed-over her Baywatch character, Lani, to another series, Pacific Blue for one episode during the 1997–1998 season.
• April Giminski ; ; A dedicated lifeguard with a heart of gold towards physically and mentally challenged people mostly because of brother Charlie who died young from an illness. NOTE: Kelly played three previous roles in the series before being added to the main cast and April is the only female character to cross over between Season 8 & Season 9 after the rest of the female Baywatch cast were all let go during what was described as the "Baywatch Bloodbath"
• Skylar "Sky" Bergman ; - Skylar was a skilled lifeguard who only appeared in a few episodes. She was a friend of Lani and April. She was let go during the Baywatch Bloodbath
• Taylor Walsh ; - Taylor was a lieutenant who replaced Mitch when he was promoted to Captain in 1997. She was let go during the Baywatch Bloodbath
• Jessica "Jessie" Owens ; ; continued onto Baywatch: Hawaii - Jessie first came to Baywatch as a cleaner, who occasionally made mistakes, but after the other lifeguards saw how talented she was in saving lives, she was added to the team.
• Alex Ryker''' ; - A former member of a rival lifeguard team called "Bayguard" but after their team were setting up their rescues, she quit and joined the Baywatch team.

  Recurring Cast

• Gayle Buchannon ; - Mitch's former wife and restaurant consultant, who always struggled with the fact that Mitch was always on lifeguard duty 24 hours a day.
• Jenny Drake - Hobie's first girlfriend, who appeared for 3 episodes.
• Amanda Keller ; - Hobie's school teacher and one of Mitch's many love interests who appeared in 3 episodes.
• Kaye Morgan ; - A former newspaper reporter who became sick of the politics at the paper she worked for, so she then went on to create her own community paper. Note: Pamela Bach's Kaye Morgan returned in later seasons to take over from Jackie Quinn's Beachside Café. She made an appearance in the first season of Baywatch Hawaii.
• Jackie Quinn ; - Summer's mother. She briefly dated Mitch but they eventually decide it best that they remain friends. Jackie opens up a fast food joint right on the beach after she reconsidered moving back to Pittsburgh, PA because she couldn't find work. Jackie and Summer end up moving back to Pennsylvania to pursue work and education.
• Sheryl Whalen ;

  ''Baywatch Nights'' (1995–97)

• Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon ;
• Garner Ellerbee ;
• Ryan McBride ;
• Destiny Desimone ;
• Lou Raymond ;
• Griff Walker ;
• Donna Marco ;
• Diamont Teague ;

  ''Baywatch: Hawaii'' (1999–2001)

• Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon ; ; His father has passed away, his mother has alzheimer, Hobie is off to college, and Mitch has lost focus. Saving a family of four reinvigorate Mitch into setting up a lifeguard training facility Mitch continues to keep Tanner in his life.
• Jessica "Jessie" Owens ; ; Jessie and J.D. are in a relationship and are convinced by Mitch to head to Hawaii with him. Her and JD's relationship started getting rocky and she left for the mainland.
• Jack "J.D." Darius ; ; JD tried out for the America's Cup and qualified but turned down the offer to continue to work with Sean and Mitch.
• Sean Monroe ; ; a dedicated lifeguard, who thinks that he is making a difference in the world with his job. Mitch chooses him to be in charge of Baywatch Hawaii. Despite Sean's emotional strength, he has his demons. He blames himself for the death of his son Ben whom he was unable to save from drowning, which led to a divorce from his wife. After taking charge of Baywatch Hawaii, Sean successfully manages a good team of lifeguards.
• Mike "Newmie" Newman ;
• Dawn Masterson ; ; Dawn was an archeologist and an expert in the human body, often testing experiments on herself that she learned in other countries. She is sometimes a bit of a gossip and her attitude sometimes makes her fall out with the other lifeguards but she is still an asset to the team.
• Allie Reese ; ; An Australian lifeguard who was hired after Mitch had seen her in action on his Australian vacation. She is very good at handling lifeboats and is a qualified helicopter pilot.
• Jason Ioane ; ; originally from Hawaii, Jason moved to Texas with his mother when he was very young after his father disappeared. At nineteen years old, he was the youngest of the lifeguards at Baywatch Hawaii. Jason found it hard to work as part of a team, being very headstrong. He was often cited as the best water person on the team. Jason was introduced to a wise Hawaiian man named Ko Lani, who helped put him in touch with his Hawaiian heritage, something that Jason became very passionate about. Eventually, he was accepted as one of the Hawaiian people and went through a traditional ceremony to mark it.
• Kekoa Tanaka, ; half Japanese, half Hawaiian. She didn't get on with Jessie Owens at first because of her untidiness and thinking she was after her boyfriend J.D, but they gradually formed a friendship. However, after Jessie left J.D., Kekoa started a relationship with him herself.
• Kai Colburn ;
• Brian Keaulana ; as himself
• Jenna Avid ; ; Jenna was the series' femme fatale as Neely Capshaw was in the original series. She is an extremely selfish character and can be particularly vindictive, especially toward Sean Monroe, whom she taunts throughout the series. Eventually, however, the two fall in love.
• Zachary "Zack" McEwan ; ; a close friend of Jason Ioane, Zach has an inflated opinion of himself. He sports an extreme quiff-style of surfer hair and Elvis-style aviator sunglasses and Hawaiian clothing.
• Leigh Dyer ; ; Formerly worked at the Coast Guard.
• Carrie Sharp ; A rookie lifeguard who enjoyed her job at first, until she was pursued by a stalker which added to her leaving after finding how much pressure the job was starting to become.
• Hideki Tanaka ; ; Kekoa's father, a wealthy Japanese business man with a high standard of living and morals.