Overview[]
Senior Lifeguard Casey Jean "C.J." Parker is a character in the American television show Baywatch.
She was portrayed by actress and model Pamela Anderson in the TV series and two TV movies. Anderson had also a cameo in the 2017 remake film as Captain Casey Jean.
C.J.'s first appearance was in the episode River of No Return: Part 1 (Season 3, Episode 1, air date 14 September 1992). She appeared in 111 episodes, her last episode being Nevermore (Season 7, Episode 22, air date 12 May 1997). CJ also appeared in the 2003 Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding TV movie.
Background[]
C.J. was born and raised in Las Vegas along with her younger brother. Her mother, Shelley Sands, was an entertainer while her father worked in a hotel. He was also a gambler who lost the family's money in an attempt to get rich.
C.J. moved to Los Angeles at a young age where she became an ocean lifeguard on Baywatch. Thanks to her athleticism and dedication she quickly became a skilled lifeguard. About four years before season 3, at the age of 18 or 19, she had already become a senior lifeguard. She left Baywatch to become a Class V whitewater rafting guide at Southfork Rapids.
In the episode Sky Rider (S04E05) it was revealed that C.J. had suffered from bulimia in her youth. She had also developed a gambling problem due to her father who was a gambling addict; she only got rid of the problem in the two-part episode Vacation (S03E15 & 16).
Major Plots[]
Physical Appearance[]
C.J. was an athletic young woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She was extremely attractive and a real head-turner. Her looks was both a blessing and a curse, sometimes helping her perform her duties, at other times making it harder.
Despite having an ample bosom, C.J. had a firm, athletic body and she occasionally displayed a distinctively defined biceps. The actress, Pamela Anderson before she had been 'discovered' had been a fitness instructor and had had dreams of becoming a female bodybuilder. This training was still visible when she became C.J.. The muscle definition gave way in later seasons making C.J. a bit more 'softer'.
C.J. was 170 cm (5'7") and 57-61 kg (125-135 pounds). Her supposed measurements were 36C-25-34.
She was was 22-years-old when she rejoined Baywatch as a senior ocean lifeguard in season three; she was 27 in season seven.
Personality and Traits[]
C.J. was a caring, loyal and trusted friend. Her friends often looked for her for support both at work and in their personal lives. She was well liked by most and her closest friends were the Holden sisters Stephanie and Caroline.
As a lifeguard she was hard-working, able and dependable. She was confident in her skills and abilities and brave in the line of work.
Her basically happy and positive attitude was of great help in her duties. She was nice and kind, never prejudging anyone, always giving people the benefit of the doubt.
C.J. was a romantic and tended to fall in love easily but she had trouble keeping a meaningful relationship.
C.J. loved animals and nature, especially marine life had a special place in her heart. She cared strongly for animals and the environment and avidly tried to protect them. She was a vegetarian.
You could say that C.J. was credulous as she believed in the existence of mythical creatures like mermaids and ghosts. She was searching for higher understanding through yoga and New Age beliefs and practices.
Skills and Abilities[]
C.J. loved athletics and outdoor life. Her skills reflected this – in addition to being a superb swimmer and diver, C.J.'s skills included, kayaking, white water rafting, rock climbing and rappelling, various other outdoor skills, athletics, hang gliding, scuba diving, rowing, surfing, hang-gliding, lifeguard competitions, running, kick-boxing and even playing the saxophone.
To stay in shape her daily routine included strength training in the HQ's gym and for aerobic exercises she did running, swimming and kick boxing. Yoga was also part of her training. Without doubt C.J. was the fittest female lifeguard on Baywatch and one of the fittest lifeguards overall.
The level of C.J.'s martial arts skills are unknown. Despite that she was often seen punching a boxing bag in the gym or training kick-boxing with a trainer, she was rarely seen in situations where she could use her unarmed combat skills.
Despite her young age, C.J. was already a veteran lifeguard and the most experienced female lifeguard in season 3. Her natural athleticism, versatility and wide skill set made C.J. one of the best if not the best lifeguard on Baywatch. A good indication of her ability was that she was in charge even when patrolling with her superior, lt. Holden (e.g. S03E09 Masquerade, 9 Nov. 1992).
In her free time C.J. had a part-time job as the volleyball coach at Malibu High.
Like all Baywatch lifeguards C.J. was expected to be able to handle all the land and water vehicles at their disposal, including the Baywatch trucks, the quad bikes, the Scarab boats and the jet skis.
C.J. was highly skilled at Lifeguard Rescue Skills, that is, she was able to assess the victim’s condition, perform an appropriate rescue, move the victim to safety be it by swimming, jet ski or boat and provide additional care like first aid or CPR as needed. She was also an able leader and skilled trainer in the aforementioned skills.
Trivia[]
- Because Anderson had posed for Playboy David Hasselhof was not sure she would be appropriate to play C.J. Parker. "I don't want anybody from Playboy. This is a family show."
- Pamela's innocent beauty and athletic ability made an impression on the producers.
- Both Alexandra Paul and Pamela Anderson auditioned for the role of C.J. Parker. Anderson got the role as Paul was not deemed athletic nor buxom enough.
- Anderson aced the informal but demanding swimming, diving and running test that all would-be lifeguards had to pass.
- Despite not liking to be in the water Pamela was an excellent swimmer.
- The character C.J. Parker was supposed to be the female action character. This role was later partly transferred to Neely Capshaw and Stephanie Holden. The decrease in physical scenes was partly due to Anderson's pregnancies, first in 95-96 and then again in 97.
- With increased popularity C.J.'s role changed after her first season from being more action oriented to being more eye-candy, something that Anderson was not entirely happy with.
- "I loved being active—running in the sand, working out, being in the ocean. A lot of the people that came on to the show before or after me weren't really comfortable in the ocean, and I grew up on an island, Vancouver Island, and I'd swam in a lot colder ocean than California, so I was like, 'This is easy! This is great! Are you sure you want to pay me for this?' I was Baywatch. I was that girl growing up. I was really, really lucky to get that job, and everything else has just kind of been... not as good."