Brooke Burns

Brooke Elizabeth Burns (born March 16, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She began her career on the popular TV series Baywatch and Baywatch Hawaii. --- Burns was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Brad and Betsy Burns. Burns has two sisters. She was a ballet dancer for twelve years during childhood and started modeling at age fifteen after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in a skiing accident. At age 16, Burns and her family moved to Europe, where she later lived in Paris, Milan and Munich. From 1998 to 2001, Burns starred in Baywatch as the character Jessie Owens. In 2001, she appeared as Vicki Vale in one of several "Batman" commercials for OnStar, opposite Bruce Thomas's Batman, reprising the role made famous by Kim Basinger in the 1989 Tim Burton-directed Batman film. Burns hosted NBC's Dog Eat Dog from June 2002 to August 2003 and was nominated for a Teen Choice Award. Burns starred in North Shore, a prime-time soap opera on Fox that consisted of 21 episodes which ran from June 14, 2004 through January 13, 2005. In 2006, she starred in the WB series Pepper Dennis playing Kathy Dinkle. In 2009, Burns appeared in the first twelve episodes of the updated Melrose Place playing Vanessa, the most recent wife of Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro) and mother of his older son's five-year-old son, Noah. Burns was given the chance to participate in the first season of the ABC celebrity diving reality competition Splash, but turned it down because of an injury she had received when diving a few years before. Burns has also appeared on Ally McBeal, Just Shoot Me!, Drop Dead Diva, CSI: Miami, Out of the Blue, To Tell the Truth, and Average Joe: Hawaii. Burns is the host of the GSN game show The Chase with Chaser Mark Labbett. --- For her role in the 2001 film Shallow Hal, the Farrelly brothers wrote a specific part for Burns after discovering in her audition she was the "prettiest dorky girl" they'd ever met. She appeared in a Hallmark Channel Original Christmas movie, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, co-starring Henry Winkler, on December 13, 2008. Other films include Smokejumpers, Dancing Trees, Trophy Wife, Art of Travel, and " Time and Again". Burns appears in the "Nickelback" video Trying Not To Love You opposite Jason Alexander. Burns and Alexander both appeared in the 2001 movie "Shallow Hal". --- Burns was once married to Julian McMahon (1999–2001) and the two have a daughter – Madison Elizabeth McMahon – who was born in June 2000. Burns was engaged to Bruce Willis until they broke up in 2004 after ten months together. Burns currently resides in Los Angeles. She is engaged to film director Gavin O'Connor.