In this heartfelt episode of Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko, Nicole Eggert, best known for her roles in Baywatch and Charles in Charge, opens up about her career and personal journey. She reflects on her time on Baywatch, the challenges of being labeled and misunderstood in Hollywood, and her decision to step away from the industry. Nicole also bravely shares her ongoing battle with cancer, her experiences as a single mother raising two daughters in Hollywood, and her efforts to advocate for others. She discusses the impact of fame, the difficulty of navigating relationships, and the emotional toll of the entertainment industry. Nicole also addresses the infamous Baywatch Curse, which made it difficult for many of the show’s actors to find other work after the series ended, shedding light on the harsh realities of being typecast. This inspiring and candid conversation highlights Nicole's resilience in overcoming adversity and her ongoing efforts to redefine her legacy. #NicoleEggert #Baywatch #CharlesInCharge #CancerSurvivor #BaywatchCurse #HollywoodStories #StillHereHollywood #SteveKmetko #ActressLife #SingleMotherInHollywood #CancerAwareness #Advocacy #HollywoodStruggles #LifeAfterFame #BehindTheScenes #EntertainmentIndustry #CelebrityStories #RealTalk #Inspiration #Resilience #Typecasting #WomenInHollywood #PodcastLife
Steve Kmetko:
Yes, I'm Still Here Hollywood. And coming up on today's episode, when it comes to the biggest shows in worldwide television history, there's one that stands far above the rest, in part because there was a lifeguard tower up high with a great view, although that wasn't necessarily the view that viewers were interested in. But when the TV rescues end and the jet skis goes silent, normal life for the actors took over. And sometimes real life has greater challenges than running on a beach and pulling a swimmer from the pounding surf. This is Still Here Hollywood. I'm Steve Kmetko. Join me with today's guest cancer survivor and Summer Quinn from Baywatch, Nicole Eggert.
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First of all, Nicole, thanks for coming in and doing this. We really appreciate it.
Nicole Eggert:
Thank you for having me.
Steve Kmetko:
Who was it you were talking to who said you should do this?
Nicole Eggert:
Paul Ruddy, a good friend of mine is a casting director.
Steve Kmetko:
I see his name all the time. Paul Ruddy casting. Paul Ruddy casting.
Nicole Eggert:
He's amazing.
Steve Kmetko:
Is he?
Nicole Eggert:
I love him. I just, I just love him. But we were having lunch and he said, have you seen this podcast? And he said, you should talk to them. You should join the podcast, be a guest. And so, of course, I went home and I watched and listened, but I like watching when that's an option. And yeah. So here I am.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, good.
Nicole Eggert:
And you guys welcome.
Steve Kmetko:
Good word of mouth. We're counting on that. First off, let's talk about Baywatch.
Nicole Eggert:
Okay.
Steve Kmetko:
How did your role come about originally?
Nicole Eggert:
Well, it's interesting. I was doing a show called Charles in Charge. And it was a show that was doing syndication and that wasn't quite so popular yet. And our executive producer, Albertan, somehow, was in contact with the executive producers of Baywatch, and they wanted to give a run at the syndication thing. And he was kind of showing them and talking to them about the experience and how it was going. And he got in business with them and wanted to do a spinoff of Baywatch and wanted it to be sort of a 9 0 2 1 Oh Esque at the beach. And he said, and I want Nicole, you know, to be in it. And then the David Charvet and then some more cast, they wanted to bring it on and do a spinoff, and it would be a high school at the beach training to be lifeguards.
And it was going to be its own thing. And I joined. I joined Baywatch in syndication. I did the first two years, and it became the number one show in the world. And they were like, spin off, nothing. This is what's working. And we wanted to stay like this. And so, after two seasons politely bowed out because it wasn't really what I had signed up for. I had some crazy idea in my head that if I left the show, I would be able to detach myself from the stigma that the show had given all of us as actors, which is not a thing. But at 20 years old, you know, if I could go back and talk to that 20-year-old, you, you just, wild ideas. So yeah, that was really how I got involved was Albertan.
Steve Kmetko:
9 0 2 1 Oh at the beach. Sounds like a good description of it.
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah. And it would've been a great, I think it would've been a great show and it was a great idea, but, and Elizabeth Barkley was attached. We had a great cast.
Steve Kmetko:
And you did it with David Charvet?
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
Because we had David Chokachi on and he was very interesting about his experiences. It's a shame he's not good looking. What's the biggest downside to fame?
Nicole Eggert:
I think for me, honestly, personally dating, dating because people think that they, they have an idea of who you are, and that could be a number of things. And I think it's harder for people to get to know you without this preconceived notion that they have going in. And that really affects sort of the dating aspect for me at least. That's just, you know, I can only speak for myself.
And I think that it just, yeah, it really affects that because they're like, wait a minute, this isn't who I thought you were. Or, you know, and you just, because I'm not, I'm not like any of the characters I've ever played. And yeah, I find that the preconceived notion of who you are, and maybe that's more than just in dating, it's just in general the preconceived notion, but it affects me the most with dating.
Steve Kmetko:
What was it like being on the biggest show in the world?
Nicole Eggert:
Weird!
Steve Kmetko:
Did you realize it at the time?
Nicole Eggert:
Well, we knew because we see the numbers. But we were being ripped apart in the press. You know, let's face it, the casting doors were not opening anymore. And I had quite accomplished career leading up to that. I had worked with some amazing directors and actors and done some amazing projects. And then all of a sudden it was like we were called Baywatch Bimbos, and these dumb bimbos on the beach, and it's TNA and it's all this. And so that was like really affecting it. And then on the other hand, you have this number one hit on your hand, and it's like, what a kerfuffle like, what a mess.
Steve Kmetko:
The first time you were asked to put on a red bathing suit and then run in slow motion. How did you feel about that?
Nicole Eggert:
Okay, well, here's the thing about the slow-motion running is we had no idea that there was such a thing as slow motion. We trailblazed that. Okay. We were the Guinea pigs. The first two seasons of this new look of Baywatch. Nobody mentioned the Slowmo. And in fact, I heard that that happened by accident in the editing room to draw out. It was a timing thing. And an editor put it in Slowmo, the Run for a montage, and then everybody fell in love with it.
So, I was running full speed. And let me tell you something, full speed, running in slow motion is not cute. not cute at all. So, the actors later had it so much easier because they knew what they were going into. They knew there would be their run would be put into slow motion so they could slow it down and be more conscious of the looks they had on their face or the way they were holding their body. Not me. I was out there like trying to be Miss Athletic running, and then they would put it in Slowmo. So, I had a lot of cringe worthy moments.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you?
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, I really did.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, as long as nobody else cringes. Tell me more about that Baywatch bias that follows the actors afterwards. How hard was it getting another job or making your way through life?
Nicole Eggert:
It became really hard. It really was. It changed everything. It changed everything for me. And I really stepped away from the industry after that because I was so frustrated and disappointed and didn't really understand. And I had been working since I was five years old and I was now in my early twenties and I thought, I'm just going to just live a little. I'm just going to go on vacations and travel and be irresponsible and not be up juggling school and work.
And I'm just going to go live a little and rebel a little if you must, you know. So that's sort of where I went with it for there I was like, I'm going to dye my hair brown because I've always wanted to do that, and I'm going to cut my hair off again. And I'm just going to do what I want to do and, you know, not focus on it because it really was no, just a lot of no’s, a lot of closed doors, A lot of, you're, you know, it can't be taken seriously anymore.
Steve Kmetko:
Would you ever consider going back to it to acting? I mean, you said you've really stepped away.
Nicole Eggert:
I really, yes. I will go back to it. I just did a little, a scene in a lifetime movie and I had a great time and it was really great to be doing something that wasn't centered around cancer. You know, and doing what I know and love it was great. But, you know, I've only had two auditions in like two years, so it's sort of out of my hands and all I can really do is manifest it, right? Because if the auditions aren't there, they're just not there.
Steve Kmetko:
And that happens a lot. In Hollywood other places too. Were you recognized a lot when you were doing Baywatch?
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, still, and especially in Europe, that was weird because I'd been an actor my whole life. And then to go to Europe and suddenly being and we used to go to Europe a lot. My, both of my parents were European. And then to go there and then suddenly your pictures are up on things and you're being recognized, and now you have to have security. And it was like, what is going on here? But you know, living in California, it's easier, you know, people, they recognize you, but they used to it. And they pretty much leave you alone.
Steve Kmetko:
They stand back, give you your space for the most part.
Nicole Eggert:
For the most part. Now that they're cell phones, though, you know, they're recording you from afar.
Steve Kmetko:
Yes. Yeah. How does that happen?
Nicole Eggert:
Technology!
Steve Kmetko:
Tell me about Charles in charge.
Nicole Eggert:
Charles in charge, I had auditioned for Albert and the executive producer so many times, and, you know, he'd done Facts of Life. He had so many great shows, and I knew I wanted to work with him. And I was actually had a reoccurring on who's the boss at the time. And funny enough, circus of the Stars was casting and I think it was Alyssa Milano who went to try out. And I went with her and I wanted to be on it so bad. I wanted Circus with Stars so bad. And they let me audition. And they said, but you have to have, you have to be on a show. And I was like, God, I need to get on a show. How do I get on a show so that I can be on Circus of the Stars? Like, that was my mentality. I was 12, 13 years old. And Albertan called with Charles in charge. And I said, oh, yes, yes, I want to work with you and I want to be on Circus of the Stars. Sign me up. And I started that show the day I was supposed to start high school.
Steve Kmetko:
Wow!
Nicole Eggert:
Yep.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, you got an education.
Nicole Eggert:
Did I? Yes. I was set schooled. Yeah. You know, so I juggled high school and that show, as did the other two kids that played my brother and sister and yeah. And it, it ended right after I graduated.
Steve Kmetko:
That's coincidental.
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, that was my high school years.
Steve Kmetko:
When you're that age, I think it's pretty normal to go where's this leading? What will I do next? Did you go through those kinds of doubts, self-questioning?
Nicole Eggert:
Not as far as acting. I've been asked this question recently a couple times. And it's funny because I have put some thought into it and I thought, you know, because I started so young, I think at five, that it was something that was normal to me, and it wasn't ever something that I set out to do. You know, it wasn't as if I said to my parents, hey, I want to be an actress. I sort of fell into it and grew up with it being part of my life. So therefore, I always just, maybe just thought it was going to be there. Like, that was just my normal and didn't really think ahead very much. But then I think about myself, and I was just kind of like that in general. in life. I didn't do a lot of thinking of consequences or planning out of the future. And no, I never really worried about that.
Steve Kmetko:
What would you have done had you not become an actress?
Nicole Eggert:
I don't know. I've also put a lot of thought into that. And I oddly, weirdly go into I maybe that I would be in law and or some sort of real estate, because real estate is something I naturally gravitated to and did do through my life. Used that's how I used my money, was in real estate. And I've always been super passionate about it. But also, law intrigues me, but I'll never know. I'll never know.
Steve Kmetko:
Don't sell yourself short. And in Los Angeles, real estate is something that is always on the front, burner. I mean everybody's going into real estate at some point or another, it seems. I've known quite a few people who went into that line of work, selling homes, finding buyers, sellers. I don't know. It sounds awfully hard.
Nicole Eggert:
Yes. I was more into, like, when they said to me, you have to do something with your money, at 15, I immediately went to real estate. And so, I was like, I'll buy a house. And I always was. And I think I got this from my dad. We would always go look at open houses. And I think because he built, he was from Germany and moved out to Los Angeles and was like living in a small apartment in Hollywood. Met my mother who was from England, and she was living in Glendale, and then they built this home in Huntington Beach. And they really, it was a big process for them. There was nothing out in Huntington Beach. It was big track housing was becoming a thing. And so, a lot of their life for a few years was really centered around that. So new construction would be going up, and me and my dad always wanted to go see. And we were always very interested in and looking at the land value, and I don't know why. It's just what we did on the weekends. And so that's what I did. And I still love it. I still, still do. I don't know so much about being the realtor. I don't know about that.
Steve Kmetko:
I had a good friend who went from retail to real estate, and I went to quite a few open houses with him. And it just seemed like too much work.
Nicole Eggert:
It's a lot of work.
Steve Kmetko:
You know?
Nicole Eggert:
Yes. And be very social.
Nicole Eggert:
Putting out the sign-- Yes, you have to be very social and be able to talk to people. Can you tell me about working with Scott Baio?
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, I don't recommend it.
Steve Kmetko:
And we'll be right back.
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Can you tell me about working with Scott Baio?
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, I don't recommend it.
Steve Kmetko:
Good answer.
Nicole Eggert:
I don't recommend it. And you know, that was hard. He was a very powerful force on that set, as was his father. And I think it was, they ran that set and a lot of people were very intimidated by them and their presence. And for me, he took a liking to me at a very young age and started grooming me, for a lack of a better word, and I guess it is the word, and really professed a love for me and would sort of try to normalize. He would always bring up Elvis and Priscilla to normalize--
Steve Kmetko:
The age gap?
Nicole Eggert:
The age gap. And, you know, show me a lot of things about them. And, you know, it was hard because I also got a lot of resistance from the other actors because it seemed like I was being--
Steve Kmetko:
Favored?
Nicole Eggert:
Favored. So, it made, it strained the relationship with other people. And then I had this, this attention from him, and then the attention started becoming a physical attention. And then it, you know, turned into an abuse and a mental abuse because I was also told, you know, not that this had to be private, and this had to be kept secret and everybody would lose their job. And I was very professional by that age. I mean, you know, I really respected people's time and jobs and I understood, and that would be the last thing on earth I would want, is for this show to blow up and everybody be out of it. And so, I kept that secret and also out of embarrassment. And, and yeah, that was, that was the really dark side to Charles in charge was, it was this amazing time in my life, and it was this horrible time in my life. And I still look back at it that way is horrible and amazing.
Steve Kmetko:
I'm surprised that you didn't have someone on the set, that they didn't assign someone to you to kind of look after your wellbeing.
Nicole Eggert:
Well, sure. You know, listen, when you're in the same place every day, all day long, rules get a little loosey goosey. And we did have our tutor on the set who was there all the time. There were parents in and out and they were looking out for us. But there's backstage and there is also offset, and that's the part is after hours. And that's sort of where the worst of it happened. The stuff that happened on set and behind set, you know, behind the front door and backstage.
There were things happening and that's why I had 25 eyewitnesses come forward talking about what they saw. And, you know, the other actor coming forward saying what he saw, and I could back up what happened to him, what I saw happening to him. And so, there's things that you're not allowed backstage, even if you're there chaperoning. You are in the front with everybody else. And once we go behind those doors, it's really only cast back there.
Steve Kmetko:
How old were you when this was happening?
Nicole Eggert:
It started around 13, 14 years old.
Steve Kmetko:
And how old was he?
Nicole Eggert:
Late 20s, almost 30. I'm not sure of our exact, I think it's a 17-year age difference. I want to say he was a grown adult.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you file a sexual allegations or accusations against him?
Nicole Eggert:
I did. I did. An investigation was done. It's sealed because it's minors. A lot of people came forward for me, and I was really appreciative of that. The DA said it was credible, found it completely credible, and could not prosecute with statute of limitations.
Steve Kmetko:
If your daughters came to you and said they wanted to get into acting, what would you tell them?
Nicole Eggert:
Well, I would ask them why, first of all, it's very important as to why you want to be in the industry. And I think that I would really support my kids, whatever they want to do. Luckily, they don't, luckily, they have no interest whatsoever. But if they did and for the right reasons, I would explore it with them. I also wouldn't be maybe as naive as my mother and definitely more present.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, they came to Hollywood not really knowing the landscape, so to speak. They weren't naive so much as they weren't educated about it.
Nicole Eggert:
Right. A hundred percent. And I don't blame my mother. Do I fault her? You know, I do. There are things that are, that I'm processing and dealing with and have been for years. But not only was it a different time, like you said, it was, this was, you know, my parents who grew up during World War ii, you know, this was a different life. I couldn't complain to them about very much as a kid, in all honesty. They, because, and I understood that, you know, they were dodging bombs. And I am complaining about, you know, being on a TV show, things like that. It hard to navigate.
Steve Kmetko:
Do you have siblings you could confide in?
Nicole Eggert:
I do have a sister, but she's significantly younger than we're 13 years apart and was very, she was just a little, little child at the time. So, no. I did have friends that I talked about it with. And people could see it. I mean, people saw what was happening. He would come down to Orange County and be around my friends, like with pictures. So, they knew. People knew, people knew. But there, you know, there's a funny aspect to it because when it's a celebrity as he was considered, people really kind of used to give a lot of leeway to that and looked at it very differently.
Steve Kmetko:
And kind of consider it normal.
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah. Luckily that's not a thing anymore.
Steve Kmetko:
How are you doing?
Nicole Eggert:
I'm doing well. I'm still dealing with cancer. It's something that I will be dealing with for the next 10 years, they say. But there's, you know, the science is so advanced and the medicines and the medications and the treatments and my body's responding really well to them, knock on wood. And so, I'm doing well. I'm really, I'm thriving.
Steve Kmetko:
How did you find out you had cancer?
Nicole Eggert:
I did a self-exam. I could feel a little bit of throbbing in my breast. And I got in the shower and did a self-exam. And I found it. I had been doing my mammograms and I had been doing ultrasounds because I have dense breast tissue. And it was missed. It just was missed. And, it started screaming at me when I'm here, pay attention to me. And I listened and I found it.
Steve Kmetko:
Were you surprised, depressed?
Nicole Eggert:
I was devastated.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. That's a better word. That's a good word.
Nicole Eggert:
I was devastated. Kind of that moment when you hear something so horrible and you kind of go deaf. Like I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't, I just was frozen with fear. I'm a mother of two girls, single mother, a hundred percent single mom, not like they go to the dad on the weekends or 50, 50. This is a hundred percent deal. We don't have family here anymore, or any family I have that's living doesn't live nearby. So, it's, you know, it was horrifying. Because my youngest was only 12 at the time, you know, that just can't be.
Steve Kmetko:
How long have you been dealing with it?
Nicole Eggert:
I was diagnosed in October of 2023. So, we're going on almost two years here.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Tell me, what was the worst part of the treatment?
Nicole Eggert:
Listen, the treatment, honestly, although it's horrible and it's painful, that's a physical pain. I'll put; I'll do that all day long. The hardest part of it is just accepting that you have it. I think that the acceptance of it is the hardest part. And to stay in a positive place instead of constantly going to the negative of like, what could be, what could happen. I think that for me is that's the most difficult thing is to stay on track of being positive. And you know, the treatment, listen, we could go on and on and I could whine to you all day long about the fevers and the chills and the aches and the pains and the throbbing of your organs. And it just feels like you're being poisoned. But it's something that unless you've gone through it, I'll spare you the horrible details and you'll never really understand.
You know, it's like childbirth until you do it, you're never going to get it. So that was just more of a physical pain. The hair loss and all of that, I was fine with it. I just didn't care as long as it was helping me. And I think that it was easier for me to deal with all the chemo and the radiation and all that because it was, my body was responding to it and I felt like, okay, we're being proactive, we're doing something. And when I stopped the chemo, sort of where I panicked because it was like, okay, we've done what we can. They threw the hardest chemo they have out there at me, the strongest. And so that was sort of like, we're not doing anything. And that was hard.
Steve Kmetko:
Do you belong to any kind of a support group?
Nicole Eggert:
I do. There's a wonderful place we spark in Sherman Oaks on Ventura, and I do a lot of advocacies, so I feel like that helps a lot. And just sharing stories with other survivors is really key.
Steve Kmetko:
I was going to ask you if your cats are free now, but--
Nicole Eggert:
It's dormant. It got into my lymphatic system, so that's where I'm at high risk for recurrence, but no signs of it right now. It's not giving me a hard time right now. And I'm on targeted therapy, a targeted treatment to keep it at bay. I'm on a number of hormone blockers. Mine was hormone positive. It was caused by estrogen. So, I'm doing what I can. And then on the other side of that, I do everything I can nutritionally to help keep it at bay. Because what people are not really realizing is the numbers are so high because of, it's really hard to be healthy in America if we're going to really be honest. It's very hard country to be healthy.
And, so things that you're putting in your body or things you're putting on your body, including your, including your clothing, your clothing, your products, your hair, shampoo, everything is such a contributing factor. And I really kind of dove into that world to keep my sanity and to keep me feeling like I am controlling the uncontrollable, you know, or the controllables. And so, I'm doing everything I can on that end, you know. And that's it. At least I can say I gave it, I gave it my all, you know.
Steve Kmetko:
What have you learned about cancer patients that you might not have known before? Are they a resilient bunch? Are they tough? What have you learned?
Nicole Eggert:
I think it's a really mixed bag. It's a mixed bag. The one thing I've learned that seems to be common is that everybody's so accepting and warm and open, and they'll put their arms around you and share their stories. So that's been wonderful. What I do realize is a lot of and I mostly interact with breast cancer patients, obviously, that's sort of my world. A lot of people just go along with the steps that they're given from their doctors without self-advocating, without looking and researching what that means. And I think that works for some, because what you don't know doesn't hurt you.
Steve Kmetko:
Do you think they feel ill-equipped to absorb all this information?
Nicole Eggert:
I think some people. I was just talking to the nurse at my surgeon's office and she was asking me if I could put together some resources for women in the Hispanic community that come in. She says, a lot of times they'll say they don't have access to the internet or because of the language barrier, they just sort of throw their hands up and get exhausted, or they're waiting to be reached out to for the next steps. Instead of realizing that you have to advocate.
Steve Kmetko:
Take the step.
Nicole Eggert:
You have to. Yes. So, I'm in the process of doing that. I'm going to put together you know, sort of a leaflet, a little quick handbook of this is what you should do, this is where you can find it. Here's, you know, the questions you should ask. And it's such a learning process and you have to be open to it because so much information is flying at you. There are so many theories and this, and there's so many rabbit holes. You could go down and you do go down and you know, so I really try to stick to the scientifically backed supplements and things like that. I do some that aren't, like, I'm a little bit in the juju. I eat apricot seeds, you know, which is not really legally sold here, but I eat them. They're full of arsenic. And I drink sour, so tea because I've heard of villages that drink that and they don't have any cancer. So, I do it all. I kind of feel like for me, what works is doing all the things.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. It sounds like you have a positive attitude, which I think is very important. What would you tell other women?
Nicole Eggert:
First you have to realize it doesn't have to be a death sentence. So, if you can get past that part and realize that there's so much out there that you can do for yourself and to help yourself, and that the treatments do work because a negative body and a sad body has a harder time healing. And I know that, that sounds crazy. It's like, well, you're dealt this, you know, how are you supposed to be happy? And I do get sad, and I do get down and I have grace with myself, and I say, this is completely normal. It's completely normal to go to that deep, dark place, but you have to say, okay, that is an option, but you know, what else is an option is beating this and living a fantastic life going forward. So, I think getting your mind in the most positive place that you can, whatever that means for you. Some people it's church, for me it's meditation. I do guided meditation. I see a shaman, I do all, all the things that I feel like bring me peace, you know, and that's different for everybody, but you have to find that. So that's like the number one is to get your head and your spirit.
Steve Kmetko:
You said you have two daughters. How old are they?
Nicole Eggert:
One is 27 and one is 13.
Steve Kmetko:
I never would've guessed. You don't look old enough to have a 27-year-old daughter. Congratulations. Good for you. Have you had con you must have had conversations with them?
Nicole Eggert:
Hardest conversations I've ever had to have in my life.
Steve Kmetko:
Really? How so?
Nicole Eggert:
Telling them that this was my diagnosis.
Steve Kmetko:
And did they handle it, okay?
Nicole Eggert:
They did. They handle it very; they process it very differently. They're two very different human beings. My youngest, when I told her the look on her face broke my heart, my whole body shattered when I looked at her face. So, I immediately said to her, no, no, no, no, no, it's not a big deal. It's just something that I have to do. A little bit of treatment and some surgery and it's going to be gone and we have nothing. We have nothing to worry about. So, I had to, I kept her in that mind space and then kind of as, as things went along, because I looked, this kind of could happen.
I might look like this, you know I made, I had her help me shave my head and we had fun. We like put on loud music and shaved my head and, you know, I said to her, I always wanted to have, I always wanted to know what it feels like to have a shaved head. Let's do it. You know, and tried to make fun with it. The weekends after chemo that I was at my worst, I would make plans for her to not be in the house. And not to say that she hasn't seen some really bad moments, but I've really kind of tried to protect her, shield her more from it.
Steve Kmetko:
What is the most surprising thing you learned from having cancer?
Nicole Eggert:
That it would make me such a better version of myself. It's so strange, and I know I'm not the only one that says this. It's like this club I never wanted to be a part of, ever. But I don't think I would trade it. I don't think I would go back and do it any differently. It's com I will never be the same person ever. And for the better, like milestones for the better. And a lot of people talk about how you get rid of cancer and how you deal with cancer. And I'm really in a moment right now of like, how did you get cancer? And I can see it, I can see all the signs and I can pinpoint it all. And I don't ever want to be that person again.
Steve Kmetko:
How do you think about your career and what lies ahead?
Nicole Eggert:
I realize that not thinking about it is probably the best. You know, it's such a strange time in the industry as you know. It's changed so much. It's not anything like it used to be. And I haven't really been that involved in the enter entertainment industry for so many years. So, stepping, trying to step back into it is learning it all over. Learning how everything is done now and just how different it is. So, a lot of my focus is more on sharing my story and advocating for other patients and podcasting.
I've fallen in love with this world. I love it. I love how uncensored it is. And just going with the flow, I've given up anymore of trying to have a plan in the future and what I want things to look like. Because Life is a funny joke. You know, it'll really throw curve balls at you. So, I really am at a head space where what's meant to be is going to be. Like for real. I think that now I always knew that was true, but for now I feel it.
Steve Kmetko:
I hate that.
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, I know it's hard. It's frustrating.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, sometimes it'd be nice if you had a little more control over certain things.
Nicole Eggert:
It's true.
Steve Kmetko:
Because it just keeps changing. And I keep aging.
Nicole Eggert:
Right.
Steve Kmetko:
There are certain I've heard, and I've seen there are certain weird side effects that happen. What have you experienced?
Nicole Eggert:
Listen, how much time do you have? The side effects. Okay. I think the one I hate the most, there's two that I hate the most. One is the memory loss. Like the chemo brain is a real thing. And it's not like brain fog or anything. I'll just literally blank out. So, I have to write everything down. It's just a little bit of a bummer because that's coming to me with my age anyway. It really accelerated it. So, I was like, that's a Jipp right there. The damage that it does to the brain. And then my feet, my feet just are not ever going to be the same. They hurt. I mean, it's pain that I can't, it's kind of hard to describe if I sit for too long and I get up and I try to walk. I mean, I look 80 years old.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh God, I can relate to this.
Nicole Eggert:
So, it takes a little like, getting up and moving around takes Some warming up, doesn't it?
Steve Kmetko:
What was your lowest point? Was it telling your daughter? Was that the lowest point of your illness?
Nicole Eggert:
Probably that moment of seeing her face when she was expecting me to say no. It was the test--
Steve Kmetko:
Nothing!
Nicole Eggert:
Came back as benign. And the drop and the dread and that little baby's face was it's a face. I don't want to see. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
We'll be back in a moment.
We had Heather Thomas on and she talked to us a great deal about her situations with stalkers. And she had, I think she said hundreds of restraining orders. And virtually left the business because some of them were overzealous and one of them even broke into her house. And she shot him. At least that's what she told us. What has been your scariest fan encounter?
Nicole Eggert:
I have no stories. I have nothing to live up to that.
Steve Kmetko:
Good.
Nicole Eggert:
Honestly, I've had some fans that were very persistent and relevant in my life and, or, you know, constantly writing to me or supporting me, but it's always been very positive. I've had some flashers, and appearances, but that was more comical and traumatizing. And honestly, the only time I've had stalkers or anything scary happen was after I spoke out against Scott Baio. And a lot of people oddly it happened as Trump was running for office and he came out as a huge Trump supporter and it was all in that same timing. And so, a lot of people were convinced that it was a political move on my behalf.
And so, he had some very strong Maga fans that would start showing up at my house. A lot of death threats. Somebody tried to press charges against me for sexual assault. They called my local police department, my police department. They came and knocked on my door and said, you need to be careful. This woman said that you sexually assaulted her. And by the end of the report, they realized that she admitted it like that her and I have never even been in the same room or even at the same state that we know of at the same time. Crazy, crazy. Having pizzas and sodas delivered to my home over and over and over. So, like, there like six would happen in a day, things like that weird. And that's when I got scared.
Steve Kmetko:
Do you like pizza?
Nicole Eggert:
I don't. I'm not, and I, and I've never had a soda if that, if you can believe. I have never sat and drank an entire soda. I don't drink soda and pizzas, okay. Sometimes. But no, we're not generally pizza fans. But I think it was just for them to let me know that they knew where I was. And my daughter was little at the time. And so, we had to leave the home for a while. Luckily, I had some family to stay with and then we eventually moved. And that's the only time I really had like scary encounters where I took it seriously.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Do you ultimately, in retrospect, regret having done Baywatch?
Nicole Eggert:
No. No. Because you can't have regrets. You can't think what if, and it's come, it's been so long and so full circle now that people look at it fondly now, it's a whole different vibe when it comes up now. And it takes people back to a time in the nineties when life was pretty fun and people look at it fondly. And I've made so many friends, I got to produce a documentary about it and bring it back full circle and, you know, no, I can't live with any kind of regret.
Steve Kmetko:
You worked on the docuseries after Baywatch?
Nicole Eggert:
Yes.
Steve Kmetko:
How was that?
Nicole Eggert:
It was amazing. I was, I knew I wanted to do something with Baywatch and give it a new life, and I couldn't figure out what it was. And I went to networks and a lot of it was a reality. A lot of people were pushing, doing like a reality kind of situation. I thought, no, I don't think that's going to work. That's going to be just like the original show. You know, that's not I want, I want something cool. And one day I was talking to a friend of mine who ultimately ended up directing it. And he, we were talking about documentaries because we're both big documentary buffs. And he said, what about doing it as a documentary? And I thought, that's where, that's what I want to do. That's it. And so, I, my first call was to Hasselhoff and I said, what do you think? Would you, do it? And he said, yes. And I thought, well, if he's in, everybody else will be in and let's go. And so, I just started calling everybody and rounding everybody up. Five years later,
Steve Kmetko:
Later that same day.
Nicole Eggert:
A pandemic, a cancer diagnosis, a chemotherapy. And five years later it was acquired by Disney and streaming on Hulu. And it's great. It's a great watch. You don't have to be a Baywatch fan to enjoy it. And it's definitely more of a story of human beings and their lives and their journeys. And it's kind of the same questions that we were talking about. Would you do it again? And how did it affect your life? And it's great. And there's so many great people that were associated with that show that kind of got glossed over. You know, it was like the Sea of Beautiful People and oh, which one was that the Blonde, which Blonde. So, it was more like, let's get to know everybody and, and talk about life and the whole aging process too, because they love to catch us females and put a they don't do it to the men, they only do it to the women. And put a picture of us now out running to the market or walking your dog and put it next to you posing it, you know, in your twenties and say what happened to them? And, you know, so yeah, let's talk about that. What happened? And that's sort of what the documentary is.
Steve Kmetko:
Well did everyone on the cast come back?
Nicole Eggert:
Everybody that we asked did except Pamela, but Pamela was shooting her own documentary at the time, so I completely get it and understand it. And Fox had an interview with her that they had never aired, so we did get to use original interview with her, sit down with her on, so, it all worked out.
Steve Kmetko:
I recently watched the last Showgirl and she was very good in that. I thought, well, she got an Oscar nomination, didn't she?
Nicole Eggert:
She got a Golden Globe.
Steve Kmetko:
Golden Globe. She was very good in it.
Nicole Eggert:
I haven't seen it yet.
Steve Kmetko:
Watch it.
Nicole Eggert:
It seems like it was definitely a role of a lifetime for her like I--
Steve Kmetko:
And it came at the right time. I think she was trying to figure out what to do. I believe, you know, what direction she wanted to go in. What do you make of her not wearing makeup anymore? I mean, it's as though she doesn't, she's turned the page on that whole glitz and glamour thing.
Nicole Eggert:
Well, I always thought she was prettier without the makeup. You know, I saw her with her little freckles and natural at work and before she got did all the glam. And I always thought she was prettier that way. And, you know, I think for her to do a complete transformation, it was the right thing to do. It was a smart move as well because it got everybody's attention and she looks great so she can pull it off and listen, whatever makes you feel good, that's when you're going to shine. And if that's how she feels, like that's what makes her feel good right now, then do it. And when you shine on the inside and when you feel good, you look better on the outside. It's just a fact.
Steve Kmetko:
When and where will we see you again?
Nicole Eggert:
I don't know. You can see me on my podcast. You'll see me here. You'll see. I have a podcast that I do once a week called Perfectly Twisted. And I do that. I I'm doing a lot of speaking, you know, for advocacy. I do a lot of that. I do have a lifetime movie coming out in September, I believe. And I don't know, that's sort of all up in the air.
Steve Kmetko:
What does Perfectly twisted mean?
Nicole Eggert:
My sense of humor.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, perfectly twisted, huh?
Nicole Eggert:
It is. I am a little bit on the dark side of humor. I like to laugh. I like to laugh at life.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Pam was in Playboy many times. Did they ever come to you or approach you? They did.
Nicole Eggert:
They did a number of times and I never, I remember them coming to me and they wanted to do a layout and it was a lot of money and I wanted to do it. I wanted to be like a fairy and a garden and like, I was so on the wrong page of what I wanted my layout to look like. And I ended up walking away from it because it wasn't, you know, I wanted wings. I wanted to look like some fairy in a garden. And they, and they were like, have you looked at the magazine? And it was before it got a little bit more artsy, you know, it was very much like the, the Playboy playbook.
And so that didn't work out. And then they also were, they did a thing with the, all the Baywatch girls, and they had asked me to be a part of that. And then I definitely didn't want to do it because at the time, we were being called Baywatch Bimbos and I was trying to escape that. And that wasn't going to help to all of us get in our, you know, red bathing suit with it half hanging off. That, wasn't in the cards for me. So, I never ended up doing it, but I did want to because I thought it was so iconic, but it just never worked out.
Steve Kmetko:
You recently lost one of your castmates to Parkinson's. Were you in touch with them or?
Nicole Eggert:
Yes. Michael Newman was very much in the documentary and he got to see the documentary and come to the, the, the premier and the party and all of it, which was amazing. And yeah, it's really hard. It was really difficult because he was this iron man and this very, you know, this is life throws horrible jokes at you, so, but he was active and out there in the ocean still paddle boarding and still working out till the end. He was determined and that's what made him happy and he was still doing it. So, it was amazing.
Steve Kmetko:
I'm a big fan of the documentary availability these days with things like Netflix and Prime Video and Hulu. Would you consider doing more in that vein from a creative standpoint rather than in front of the camera?
Nicole Eggert:
Yes. I don't know if it would be documentary making because I'll tell you something, that's a lot of work, and there's not a lot of money we, we broke even on it. And it has to be, you have to be very passionate about it. Like I said, five years of working on it. And so documentary making is tough. It really is hard. Although I documented my journey, my cancer journey too. I recorded the good, the bad, the ugly of that. I don't know if I'll do something with that or not, maybe one day. But I do love producing. I do love being behind the camera. Very much so. So, it is something that I entertain, but then again, doing that also made me start itching to be in front of the camera. I really love the process. I'm just one of those people that I love the industry for the process. I love it from the idea, the conception to the journey of it and the final product. And I just that's the part that I love.
Steve Kmetko:
What's it like raising two daughters in Hollywood as a single mom?
Nicole Eggert:
Raising two kids on your own is just hard. It's just a lot, but it's what makes me happy. And I fortunately was able to like cash in on things so that I could be at home raising both of them. Because I had to do mom and dad and I knew I would never get that time back. And I figured if I, my career is something that kind of took a backseat to being a mom, but because I had done all the work and I had worked so hard for so many years, it gave me the leeway to be able to sort of be what felt like to them as a stay-at-home mom. So, it's been a huge blessing for me in that respect. But it's hard and like one daughter can't stand the fact, you know, if there's paparazzi and all of that, and then the younger one or like when people recognize, they say, Edgar, oh, are you related to? And she's like, oh. And then my youngest is like, yes, yes, I am. You know, she's very proud of it and loves it when people are like, when her teachers said, is your mom Nicole? Yes, yes. You know, so they have very different takes on it.
Steve Kmetko:
Do their friends know that you were on Baywatch?
Nicole Eggert:
Yeah, they do. And you know, one of them hates it. One of them loves it.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, I think I'm done. Until we see you again in October on what is a lifetime movie?
Nicole Eggert:
Yes, yes, yes.
Steve Kmetko:
Maybe, maybe. We'll look forward to it.
Nicole Eggert:
Maybe.
Steve Kmetko:
Thanks Nicole.
Nicole Eggert:
Thank you.
Steve Kmetko:
Best of luck with your health issues.
Nicole Eggert:
Thank you. Yep. That's the number one right now.
Steve Kmetko:
Still Here Hollywood is a production of the Still Here Network. All things technical run by Justin Zangerle. Theme music by Brian Sanyshyn and executive producer is Jim Lichtenstein.