Brooke Burns

Brooke Elizabeth Burns (born March 16, 1978)[1] is an American fashion model, game show host, actress, and television personality. Burns began her television career in 1995, portraying the supporting character Peg in the Spanish-American teen sitcom Out of the Blue (1995–1996), appearing in all episodes. Burns joined the cast of the action drama series Baywatch in 1998 and subsequently starred in Baywatch's second rendition, Baywatch: Hawaii, until she left the show owing to her first pregnancy. She appeared in 33 episodes.

Brooke Burns
Burns in July 2010
Born	Brooke Elizabeth Burns March 16, 1978[1] Dallas, Texas, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Actress television host model
Years active	1996–present
Height	5 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[1][2]
Spouse(s)	Julian McMahon ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2001)​ Gavin O'Connor ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	2

After her hiatus, Burns returned to television, appearing in several guest roles, including in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!, and had a major role in the American soap opera North Shore, appearing in all 21 episodes. In 2009, she guest-starred in the crime drama CSI: Miami.

Burns hosted all episodes of the NBC game show Dog Eat Dog, which aired from 2002 to 2003. She hosted 18 episodes of the Fox game show Hole in the Wall, as well as the GSN quiz show The Chase. The Chase was nominated at the 41st Daytime Emmy Awards for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show, and two years later Burns was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host. In addition to television, Burns has also appeared in minor roles in several films. She appeared in the romantic comedy Shallow Hal, the mockbuster disaster Titanic II, and the drama Where Hope Grows (2014).

Early life

Burns was born in Dallas, Texas,[1] the daughter of Brad and Betsy Burns.[3] She has two sisters. She was a ballet dancer for 12 years during childhood and started modeling at age 15 after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in a skiing accident. At age 16, Burns moved with her family to Europe, living later in Paris, Milan, and Munich.[4]

Career

Television

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. 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 that ran for 21 episodes in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she starred in the WB series Pepper Dennis, playing Kathy Dinkle. In 2009, Burns appeared in the first 12 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.[5]

Burns has also appeared on Ally McBeal, Just Shoot Me!, Dog Eat Dog, Drop Dead Diva, CSI: Miami, Out of the Blue, To Tell the Truth, Average Joe: Hawaii. She was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for best game show host on the GSN game show The Chase with Mark Labbett and is currently host of Master Minds.[6]

Film

For her role in the 2001 film Shallow Hal, the Farrelly brothers wrote a specific part for Burns after deciding during her audition that she was the "prettiest dorky girl" they'd met.[4] She appeared in a Hallmark Channel 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 Shallow Hal.

Personal life

Burns grew up in Texas in a Christian family. Her father was in the oil business and also did missionary work.[7] Burns was married to actor Julian McMahon from 1999 to 2001. McMahon is the son of the former Prime Minister of Australia Sir William McMahon. They have a daughter, Madison Elizabeth McMahon, who was born in June 2000.[8]

On June 22, 2013, she married film director Gavin O'Connor.[9] She resides in Los Angeles.[4]

In October 2016, it was announced that Burns was expecting her second child, a girl;[10] Burns announced that her daughter, Declan Welles, was born January 22, 2017.[11]

Health and injuries

On November 10, 2005, Burns broke her neck in a diving accident.[4][12] Although she made a full recovery, she has a titanium fusion in her neck consisting of a plate, rod, and 10 screws.[4][13] In May 2014, Burns was involved in a car crash in Los Angeles.[14]

Charitable activities

When Burns was filming Baywatch, she was involved with Camp Baywatch, teaching inner-city children to swim and lifeguard.[4] She also supports the Life Rolls On Foundation, an organization that aims to help people with spinal cord injuries return to an active lifestyle.[15] In 2006, as a result of her diving injury, she became involved with the Think First National Injury Prevention Foundation and the North American Spine Society, which aim to raise awareness of spinal injuries.[16]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2001	Shallow Hal	Pretty / Ugly Katrina
2005	The Salon	Tami
	Single White Female 2: The Psycho	Jan Lambert	Direct-to-DVD
	Death to the Supermodels	Eva	Direct-to-DVD
2006	Murder on Spec	Kate Graham
2007	Urban Decay	Sasha
2008	The Art of Travel	Darlene Loren
	Smoke Jumper aka Trial by Fire	Kristin Scott	Lifetime TV movie
2009	Dancing Trees	Nicole
2010	Titanic II	Dr. Kim Patterson	Direct-to-DVD
2015	Where Hope Grows	Amy Boone

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Out of the Blue	Peg	22 episodes
1997	Conan the Adventurer	Hearth	Episode: "The Three Virgins"
	Ally McBeal	The Girl / Jennifer Higgin	4 episodes
1998–2001	Baywatch: Hawaii	Jessie Owens	46 episodes
1999	Mortal Kombat: Conquest	Lori	Episode: "Festival of Death"
2001	OnStar: Batman	Vicki Vale
2002	Men, Women & Dogs	Kristle	Episode: "Cheese Dog"
	A Nero Wolfe Mystery	Beatrice Epps	2 episodes
2002–2003	Dog Eat Dog	Host	26 episodes
	Just Shoot Me!	Kelly / Cover model	2 episodes
2003	She Spies	Nicki Shields	Episode: "The Replacement"
	Rock Me Baby	Erin "White Chocolate" Rimsing	Episode: "Girl Power"
2004–2005	North Shore	Nicole Booth	21 episodes
2006	Modern Men	Angelica	Episode: "Give 'Til You Learn"
	Pepper Dennis	Kathy Dinkle Williams	13 episodes
	Trophy Wife	Kate Graham	Television film (Lifetime)
2007	Time and Again	Anna Malone	Television film (Lifetime)
2008	Trial by Fire	Kristen	Television film (Lifetime)
	The Most Wonderful Time of the Year	Jennifer Cullen	Television film (Hallmark)
	Miss Guided	Lisa Germain	7 episodes
2008–2009	Hole in the Wall	Co-host	18 episodes
2009	Mistresses	Shannon Barnes	Television film (Lifetime)
	CSI: Miami	Bonnie Galinetti / Marci Reeger	Episode: "Chip/Tuck"
	Drop Dead Diva	Christy Talbot	Episode: "Dead Model Walking"
	Melrose Place	Vanessa Mancini	6 episodes
2011	You Deserve It	Hostess	6 episodes
	Fixing Pete	Ashley	Television film (Hallmark)
	Borderline Murder	Abby Morgan	Television film (Lifetime Movies)
2012	Undercover Bridesmaid	Tanya	Television film (Hallmark)
	A Star for Christmas	Skylar	Television film (ION)
2013	A Sister's Revenge	Suzanne Dunne	Television film (Lifetime)
2013–2015	The Chase	Host	29 episodes[6]
2014	Motor City Masters	Host	10 episodes
2015	Community	E.T. Host	Episode: "Intro to Recycled Cinema"
	Gourmet Detective	Detective Maggie Price	Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)[17]
	Gourmet Detective: A Healthy Place to Die	Detective Maggie Price	Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
2016	Gourmet Detective: Death Al Dente	Detective Maggie Price	Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)[18]
2017	Eat, Drink and Be Buried: A Gourmet Detective Mystery	Detective Maggie Price	Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)[19]
	Christmas Connection	Sydney	Television film (Hallmark)[20]
2020	Roux the Day: A Gourmet Detective Mystery	Detective Maggie Price	Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
	Master Minds	Host

References

1. "Brooke Burns". Fashion Model Directory. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
2. https://twitter.com/BrookeBurns/status/322557397455495168
3. "Brooke Burns Biography". Filmreference.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
4. Aguilar, Candice (Summer 2008), "Brooke Burns Interview", U. Magazine, pp. 6–7, archived from the original on July 3, 2008, retrieved July 4, 2008
5. "Brooke Burns Turned Down Splash Offer Due to Past Diving Accident". MSN Entertainment. Microsoft. April 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
6. "Brooke Burns to Host GSN's 'The Chase'". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. May 27, 2013. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
7. Gostin, Nicki (March 25, 2015). "Brooke Burns: In Hollywood, 'if you go to church you're crazy'". Fox News. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
8. "Brooke Burns". CelebrityWonder.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
9. Finn, Natalie (December 13, 2011). "Newly Blond Brooke Burns Engaged to Warrior Director". E!. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
10. "Brooke Burns is Solving Mysteries and Having Babies!". Hollywood Life. October 7, 2016.
11. @BrookeBurns (January 27, 2017). "So this happened last weekend. Sunday's child Declan Welles at 4:22am On January 22nd 2017" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. "Brooke Burns Talks About Near Fatal Swimming Accident". Celebrity Spider. Walker Marketing, Inc. December 19, 2005. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
13. "Brooke Burns' Scary Spinal Cord Injury Gave Her a New Purpose". brainandlife.org. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
14. "Brooke Burns involved in car crash". Daily Express. May 9, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
15. "More information". Volunteer Match. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
16. "Diving Accident Survivor Brooke Burns Helps Raise Awareness About Diving Injury Prevention This Summer". Business Wire. May 2006. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
17. "GOURMET DETECTIVE: Actress Brooke Burns on Hallmark movie - Exclusive Interview". Assignment X. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
18. Reid, Michael D. "Big Picture: Gourmet Detective star has an appetite for comedy". Times Colonist. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
19. "Movies 24 Sets UK Premiere Date For 'The Gourmet Detective: Eat, Drink, And Be Buried'". TVWise. November 30, 2017. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
20. Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (December 17, 2017). "Hallmark's 'Christmas Connection': Cast, Photos & Where Filmed". Heavy.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.

External links

• Brooke Burns at IMDb
• Brooke Burns at AllMovie
• Brooke Burns at Fashion Model Directory