CARMEN ELECTRA SURF'S UP

The actress, singer and glamour model opens up about her Baywatch years and what she learned along the way

- FRANCK RAGAINE

Carmen Electra still recalls the moment she decided to become a Baywatch girl – and she can’t help but laugh as she confesses the reason. “I was in L.A. with my boyfriend [at the time] and he was looking at those girls on the show... so I wanted to be one of them!” she tells us, adding that she “ jumped at the chance” to join the series when the opportunity came along in 1997. “It was turning every guy’s head ... it was iconic!”

Before rising to fame as lifeguard Lani McKenzie, the Cincinnati native had been pursuing music with the help of pop icon Prince (he produced her debut album in 1993), and later landed a hosting gig on MTV dating show Singled Out. “Going from performing with Prince to MTV to then getting cast on Baywatch, it was like the icing on the cake,” says Carmen, who, at the same time, was making a name for herself as a glamour model, posing for the likes of Playboy. “It all happened so fast.”

Decades on, the