Three decades after slipping into a red-hot swimsuit to star on Baywatch, Erika Eleniak has an edgy new look. The blonde bombshell made waves as lifeguard Shauni McLain on the popular TV show for three years, and while she's still in the acting game, she looks very different. Erika, 56, is now covered in tattoos and recently spoke about them on the Still Here Hollywood podcast.
While she still has a striking look, her tanned California skin sports a multitude of ink — including heavily tattooed sleeves and a large tattoo on her back — which would have dramatically altered her appearance as she ran along the shores in Baywatch. Talking to the host, Steve Kmetko, about her body art, Erika rolled up her sleeves to showcase her arms.
© Fremantle Media/Shutterstock"I have a lot of tattoos," she said, explaining that her tattoo journey started in her twenties. "It's been a long road," Erika said, She detailed how "every tattoo that I have is significant of something," before she showed off the inner part of her arm that it was dedicated to her mom, Iris, who passed away. When asked why she does it, Erika quipped: "I love tattoos. I love that my body is a canvas to tell my stories. It's fun."
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© Variety via Getty ImagesErika has starred in a selection of movies and TV shows over the years — including Under Siege, A Pyromaniac's Love Story, and 1993's The Beverly Hillbillies — but many of the moments on Baywatch are the ones that stick in her mind. "When we shot that show … it was January," she revealed to Fox News. "It was the coldest time of the year. We would use these huge lights to make it look hot and sunny. I remember running in the water on the coldest day of the year. Our lips were so blue that we couldn’t use the footage. It was ridiculous. It was so cold."
© GettyIn order to look gleaming with sweat and from the glaring sun, she recalled how the crew would spray her with water to give the illusion of dewy complexion. "They would be coming at you [with the spray] when you least expect it. Bathing suits in winter with the wind blowing and then you would be sprayed with cold water," she said. "That’s the magic of television, right? But it was this visual show with sunshine on the beach and everyone was hot and sweaty."
She confessed it was harder than anticipated to get roles after Baywatch, due to her being typecast. Erika said: "I wanted to have a serious career,” she explained. “I'm so grateful to the show. I left because it was time for me to go at the height and hopefully be able to use that in my mind.
"What happened to me is I had to end up working three times as hard than I thought I would because of, ‘Oh, bouncing breasts, blonde, here she comes thinking she's going to get the role.' And I did get some great roles but I busted my ass."
