Yasmine Bleeth
Celebrity Style Magazine
Interview

By Alexis Iacone

Yasmine Bleeth is not just another babe. Yes, she spent three years squeezing into a tight, red swimsuit on Baywatch, much like the show's other notable alumni, Pamela Anderson Lee, Carmen Electra and Gina Lee Nolin. And, yes, like those actresses, Bleeth left the show to pursue meatier acting assignments. Difference is, while Lee and Electra are still struggling to shed the dreaded bimbo image that comes from launching one's career as a bouncing, beach-bound Barbie doll, Bleeth has taken people's misconceptions about her intelligence and talent and left them back at the beach--where they belong.

Not to say that it's been easy. The second coming of Yasmine Bleeth is a battle being waged on several fronts. Since Baywatch, Bleeth has earned consistently positive critical notices for a range of made-for-TV movies. Last fall, she landed the role of a saucy investigator who butts heads with Don Johnson's title character on CBS' Friday night hit, Nash Bridges. And then, of course, there are her talk-show appearances. From Conan O'Brien to David Letterman to Politically Incorrect, Bleeth's quick wit and self-effacing style have earned her a reputation as one of the most sought-after guests on late-night TV. Not exactly fodder for the bimbo bargain bin, eh?

Bleeth's honesty, smarts and obvious charm are apparent even over the phone. Celebrity Style caught up with her at her hotel room while on a mini-vacation in Canada. Her willingness to tackle nearly any topic--from love to strip clubs to feminism--is remarkable indeed. She even conducted the interview while still in bed with boyfriend-actor Richard Grieco. Oh my!

Bleeth doesn't shy away from discussing the fact that some people still try to write her off as a mere mannequin, valued for her looks and not much else. "People are surprised to find out that I can speak and put two sentences together, that I'm smart and literate," she laughs. "Why would they assume that I wouldn't be?"

Perhaps it's because despite having begun her career with an impressive seven years of work on daytime soaps such as Ryan's Hope and One Life To Live, most Americans first discovered Bleeth on Baywatch. Still, she won't apologize for her work on a show that didn't exactly stretch the boundaries of her acting craft, even if it did get her stereotyped. "I look at [the stereotype] and wonder,'Is it because I'm an actress? Is it because I'm a woman? Or is it because I was doing a show where I was perceived as a sex symbol, whatever that means?'"

Almost sounds like a feminist philosophy, no? Bleeth pauses for a moment. "Would I consider myself a feminist?" she asks. "Does being a feminist mean that I believe that I'm as good as any man and I should be as good as any man? Yes. Do I believe that men and women have certain roles? Yes, I believe in that, too. Most feminists probably wouldn't say that."

And most hard-core feminists probably wouldn't want to hang out at strip clubs. Nor would they appreciate the humor of shock jock Howard Stern. Don't count Bleeth among their ranks. That's right. If Bleeth could be invisible for a day, she'd lounge around strip clubs--yes, strip clubs-and soak up all the atmosphere. "I'm just very interested in the whole idea and why men are so interested in it," she explains. "What's the fascination? What's so sexy about it?"

As for Stern, when his name comes up, Bleeth laughs and admits she's a fan. She also says she's bewildered by the many celebrities who agree to appear on Stern's show, then are offended when they're asked to tackle taboo topics. "These people go on the show and are insulted and freaked out when he's asking them about their sexual escapades and whether they've had fantasies about their brother," chuckles Bleeth. "That's just what he does. It's a joke!"

Still, while Bleeth has no trouble shifting gears from brainy to bawdy, she's also not immune to a little old fashioned romance, either. Grieco-Bleeth's main man for almost three years now--is "very romantic," she admits. In fact, early in their relationship, Grieco flew to the set of a film where Bleeth was working and gave her a bouquet of freshly picked roses from his garden. "He could have sent flowers or bought them, but he flew across the country with these flowers wrapped in paper towels. More than any of the expensive gifts he's given me, that's what I really cherish," she says.

This is clearly a couple in love. At one point during the interview, Bleeth takes a quick pause. There's some soft chatting in the background, then she returns to the phone. "Sorry," she apologizes. "That's my boyfriend. He just had to give me a kiss." Yet while the couple's passion keeps burning brightly, don't expect wedding bells any time soon. Bleeth says she's happy with the relationship the way it is. "Is marriage something that's a necessity for me right now? Do I spend time thinking about it? Would I feel more loved? No."

Ironically, when Bleeth met Grieco while filming the quickly forgotten flick Heaven Or Vegas, she thought they were destined to be just friends. "On the surface, Richard is somebody who I never would have gone out with," says Bleeth. "But in the end, the qualities that you need most are not the most obvious. They don't come out right away." Such as? "Someone with a kind heart, who's respectful of family, who makes me laugh. Richard is a guy's guy. People might think he's macho and all that stuff, but something about that works for me."

Actually, Bleeth doesn't want her boyfriend to double in the role of best friend. And while Grieco isn't the most sensitive guy she's dated, she says he understands what she needs. "Guys know immediately that I'm high maintenance," Bleeth says. "Not monetarily speaking. But if a guy is going to be with me, it's going to take some time and effort and thought."

Of course, if the love affair with Grieco ever falters, might we suggest an alternate beau for Bleeth? She noticeably perks up when the conversation turns to talk-show host Conan O'Brien. "I have the best chemistry with Conan," she says. "He just makes me laugh and we have great timing together. I think I can set him up well for the joke, whether I mean to or not." But what does she really think of him? Slightly embarrassed, she admits she finds him "charming" and "sexy." Hmmm...

In any event, whether Bleeth chooses to settle down anytime soon, she's certainly looking at life more philosophically these days, something she attributes to reaching her 30th birthday last year.

One might expect that Bleeth would've dreaded reaching the big 3-0, but that's not the case. "I really was looking forward to it. I like being a woman and getting older. And I'm not just saying that," she insists. "Before, I would just sort of let things happen and never really think about them. Lately, I'll go,'Hey, wait a minute--why was this like this. Why did I make this decision? Why did this relationship end?' You have to think about what you've learned and what you're doing right now."

Examining her life and career helped Bleeth come to the decision to leave Baywatch two years ago, even if it meant tempting the fates--which can be unkind to actors who make early exits from hit TV series. (Think David Caruso's career, post-NYPD Blue. Eek!)

But even though she was abandoning Baywatch, Bleeth was not opposed to the idea of returning to series television. She just wanted to find the right role, hopefully something that played to her comedic strengths. She thought she'd hit the jackpot last summer when she found out she was one of four actresses in the running for the lead role in a new NBC series, Will & Grace, which became one of that network's most promising freshman shows. Instead, the role went to Deborah Messing. Bleeth says she was deeply disappointed.

Not long after, however, she got a call from her agent offering her a shot to join the cast of Nash Bridges, playing the role of Caitlin Cross, a tough internal affairs investigator. "It was very flattering that CBS was interested in me," says Bleeth. "It was really strange to get a job before meeting anybody involved. They had done the research on me and watched my tapes. I hadn't even auditioned."

Series star Don Johnson invited her to lunch the day before her first scenes were shot. Her first impression of Mr. Miami Vice? "I wasn't nervous per se, but then again, you're meeting an icon. He was very sweet and charming and straight forward. He had really done his homework on the Caitlin character and thought her out. It really made me feel confident that they [the producers] didn't just hire me because I was some girl from Baywatch with a cute body."

Bleeth calls her Bridges character "strong, ballsy, aggressive and smart," which is exactly the kind of role she wanted to play. "At the same time, Caitlin is very feminine, too, and I really liked that combination. I think that's why she gets away with her behavior. The character uses her feminine wiles and at the same time she's charming."

Finding complex, well-developed roles for women is "absolutely" a challenge, Bleeth contends, "especially when you're joining a show that's typically male-dominated." For example, Nash Bridges had featured some female characters prior to Bleeth's, but none had panned out. "They were relegated to the background, for exposition stuff," Bleeth says. "I didn't want to play some girl who was going to jump into bed with Don's character. I didn't see how people would be interested in seeing that for more than a few episodes." Indeed, says Bleeth, her Nash Bridges character provides a far greater acting challenge than she faced on Baywatch, not that it's any big surprise.

"Baywatch was great fun," she says. "But I had been on soaps for seven years before that, while for most of the cast, Baywatch was their first job. I didn't learn much." On the other hand, Bleeth finds herself surrounded by veteran actors on Bridges. "I feel I'm really learning from them and have to step up to the plate," she says.

So what's next for Bleeth? Which of her contemporaries does she most admire? Jennifer Jason Leigh, Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep and Vanessa Redgrave are just a few of Bleeth's favorites on today's movie screens. "I just saw Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare In Love," she adds. "She was just amazing. And I'm a big Julia Roberts fan, too."

As for celebrity fashion, Bleeth points to Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and Salma Hayek as having the best personal style. And she admits she'd sashay down the catwalk for designer Badgley Mishka if asked.

Part of looking good, Bleeth says, is knowing what clothes flatter one's own figure. She tends toward a more classic look--tailored and fitted clothing. "I would have loved to have lived during the '40s or '50s," she says, when Hollywood was all about glamour.

Indeed, Bleeth has a special appreciation for some of the legendary screen actresses of this century. Though she refuses to compare herself to any of them, she doesn't hesitate to point out their enviable qualities: "I'd love to have Katherine Hepburn's coolness and sophistication. Marilyn Monroe's sexy, sweet-young-thing appeal. And it wouldn't be bad to look like a cross between Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor either!"

Bleeth, however, really doesn't have anything to worry about when it comes to looks. Her exotic appeal is a result of her Russian/German heritage, and at least some of her beauty comes from her mother, who once worked as a model.

Still, don't expect any vanity from Bleeth. She says she thinks her best feature is that she's comfortable in her own skin. "It's not about being perfect--whether I'm heavier or skinnier or haven't had sleep the night before, she says. In fact, Bleeth adds, "I'm the kind of person who waits until I've gained ten pounds to start exercising." And if she were challenged to gain 20 pounds for a role, she says she'd do it without hesitation.

Which brings us to an amusing anecdote from Bleeth's past. A few years back, it seems, a supermarket tabloid ran a story on "Yasmine's Love Diet," which Bleeth says is the most ridiculous thing she's ever read about herself. "They wrote that I'd gained 30 pounds over the summer and lost it in a week because I was dating three guys at once!" she recalls.

Yasmine Bleeth sees her future much differently: 20 years from now, Bleeth envisions she'll be "filming one good movie a year and running a beautiful bed and breakfast with my family, someplace in Napa Valley, CA" She laughs to herself, then adds: "Oh! And doing it as well as Martha Stewart."