90s Baywatch icon defies the laws of ageing in reunion with cast

The Baywatch gang have reunited to celebrate a brand new documentary based on the popular TV series.

The cast got dolled up to launch the ABC News Studios project After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun, which chronicles the success of the 1989-2001 series, which was based on the adventures of a team of beach lifeguards.

Among the list of attendees at the exclusive event was Brandy Ledford, who incredibly looked pretty similar to the day she joined the show in 1999.

The now 55-year-old chose a sweet pink dress for the occasion held in Santa Monica and smiled with her former co-stars including Brande Roderick, Carmen Electra, Jeremy Jackson and Ingrid Walter, while walking the cream carpet.

She wore her blonde hair in beachy waves (very apt) and chose similar hues to her ensemble for the makeup.

Brandy played lifeguard Dawn Masterson for 15 episodes during Baywatch: Hawaii, which was set on the tropical island rather than the usual Los Angeles.

Her character was also an archaeologist, and her storyline revolved around her dedication to patrolling the beach, and her desire to find somebody to love.

The four-part docuseries, which launched today, sheds light on the ‘cultural phenomenon that defined an era’, and provides an unprecedented look into the actors who brought the show to life. At its height, the show attracted over one billion global viewers a week and 15 million in the UK alone. It spawned a spin-off film and will soon be returning to TV over two decades after it went off air.

Ahead of the Hulu show, Brandy was already spilling secrets, including how she nailed the iconic slow-motion run. She told fans that she would place her tongue on the roof of her mouth to create a ‘defined jawline’. Well, now you know!

On the tutorial posted on Instagram where she recreated the beach run, fans took the time to compliment her appearance.

‘You still are gorgeous!’ wrote Michael Maruhashi. Kevin Kerleau added: ‘Oh my 😍heaven does exist.’

‘Still got it,’ remarked Kim Helman.

‘Baywatch is a fantasy. Baywatch was sexy. Baywatch was the number-one show in the world. It was hot,’ she teased in the trailer, which also featured Pamela Anderson, who rose to prominence in the series.

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After previously working as a model, Dawn went to acting school before taking on roles in multiple TV programmes.

In the long-running sitcom Modern Family, she played neighbour Desiree in the first series but taking on the role of android Doyle in season five of sci-fi Andromeda is the job she has the most fondness towards.

‘I just got to be real strong and fierce and sexy and beautiful but still smart, and that was rare,’ she told the Recovery Rockstars Uncut podcast.

However, it was her appearance in the teen drama Whistler that earned nominations for Best Actress at the Leo Awards and Gemini Awards.

Brandy has a son from her marriage to Canadian actor Martin Cummins, which ended in 2004. It marked her second marriage after also getting wed to snowboarder Damian Sanders in the 1990s.

She married again but has kept details about her life partner private. In 2020, she celebrated their romance with a gushing Instagram post.

‘My marriage is private. HOWEVER, today, the day we celebrate L ♥️ V E
I want to send a special shout-out to the man who showed me what true love really is,’ she wrote.

‘My lover, my soulmate, my best friend, my giggle partner, my fellow foodie, my young son’s silly wonderful daddy, my husband, my rock.’

Brandy added that her husband has supported her through the tougher times. She has previously been open about her addictions, which began when she smoked pot at age 11.

‘That was when I knew I liked feeling different than I was feeling,’ she told the nyu.edu podcast.

‘And then I didn’t smoke pot regularly after that, but when I was 14, I was introduced to cocaine. And I loved cocaine.

‘And so, I did a lot of cocaine for 10 years after that. And I started drinking around the same time.’

Brandy, who grew up in Colorado, was arrested for drink-related offences as a teenager.

‘I didn’t have any safeguards in place to even think, and this is true for most of my young adult life for really bad decisions I’ve made,’ she recalled.

She turned her life around in 2012 and embraced sobriety, often posting on social media about her journey to inspire others.

‘Why am I sober? Why did I get sober? Why is sobriety my why? Because for me, to drink or use drugs is to die. It just is. I have been down the darkest road with this disease and this is just facts,’ she wrote in July.

‘This is life or death and none of us are immune to it.’

As well as acting, Brandy sells exclusive images of herself on subscription service Passes.

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is streaming on Hulu

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