Whatever Happened To Baywatch Star Donna D'Errico?

"Baywatch" didn't pick up steam until Pamela Anderson joined in Season 3 — it was actually canceled after its 1st season on NBC before it was picked up as a syndicated series. But it eventually became a cultural touchstone. Most adults who were alive back then have the iconic red "Baywatch" swimsuit embedded in their brains, for better or worse. Heck, even "Friends" characters Joey and Chandler were obsessed with it! "Baywatch" made stars of most people in its incredibly attractive ensemble cast, including Jeremy Jackson, Yasmine Bleeth, and David Chokachi. Even those who joined relatively late often became household names, such as Donna D'Errico.

D'Errico did not join the series until 1996, when it was entering its 7th season. Over the next two years, she appeared as character Donna Marco in 44 episodes of the flagship series, 34 episodes of the spinoff "Baywatch Nights," and in the straight-to-video film "Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay." Though D'Errico made minor waves as a Playboy model prior to the series, it was "Baywatch" that brought her to mainstream attention. She also gained recognition during this time for guest spots on shows such as "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and "Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher" and for her marriage to Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. 

"Baywatch" remains the hallmark of D'Errico's career, but it is not where her story ends. So, what has she been up to in the years since leaving the show in her rearview? Let's take a look.

Donna D'Errico may not be starring in any major motion pictures or awards-worthy television shows, but she has certainly not given up acting in the years since "Baywatch" ended. In 1998, the same year she left the beach for good, she appeared as a press secretary in the TV movie "Men in White" and in a one-episode guest spot in the television series "Holding the Baby." She has had bigger movie roles over the years, either in straight-to-video fare like "Candyman: Day of the Dead" and "Comic Book: The Movie" or in largely unknown productions such as the British film "Intervention" (which made less than $400 at the box office when it played in one single theater for three days in 2007).

D'Errico also had small parts in the Bruce Willis flop "Survive the Game" and the satirical film "Inconceivable," starring Jennifer Tilly and Andie MacDowell. In her most high-profile film, "Austin Powers in Goldmember," D'Errico played a role so minor that she was not even given a name (her credit: "female vendor"). D'Errico has had slightly more success landing one-off TV guest spots in notable programs. For instance, she appeared as a deputy on a 2004 episode of "Reno 911!" and as a criminal on a 2018 episode of the similarly titled "9-1-1." Other guest role credits include "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" — girl likes a cop show! — and "Roadies." And while D'Errico's last acting credit was in 2022, she does have two small acting projects (and directing/producing roles) in production as of this writing.

There is no shortage of Hollywood starlets who have settled down with major rock stars. To name a few, model Jordyn Blum has been married to Dave Grohl since 1993, actor Valerie Bertinelli was wed to Eddie Van Halen for over 25 years, and Shannon Tweed has been with Gene Simmons for over four decades now (and married to him since 2011). The guys in the band Mötley Crüe seem especially fond of Hollywood stars, considering most of them have had multiple famous wives. Take Tommy Lee, who was briefly married to Heather Locklear before his second marriage to Pamela Anderson. Anderson, in turn, hooked up Lee's bandmate Nikki Sixx when she introduced him to her "Baywatch" co-star Donna D'Errico.

D'Errico and Sixx's tumultuous relationship didn't last. They married just one month after Sixx's divorce from his first wife, Brandi Brandt, who, like D'Errico, was a Playboy Playmate. In 2000, just two years into the marriage, Sixx was unfaithful. D'Errico was pregnant with their daughter, Frankie-Jean, at the time (the actor also has an older son, while Sixx had just three kids at the time, all from Brandt). The couple split briefly but reconciled after Sixx successfully completed rehab. In 2006, D'Errico filed for divorce after nine years of marriage. She has said that it was especially difficult for her given that her Catholic upbringing discouraged disunion.

Though Donna D'Errico did alright in her divorce from Nikki Sixx, she did not receive enough money to maintain her lifestyle. Either no one told her as much or she simply buried her head in the sand, because in less than a decade on her own, she racked up some serious debts. It's all public record, too, since D'Errico was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2014. Per the court documents, she had an impressive $413,574.74 in total assets in 2014, but more than double that amount in liabilities ($947,332.22, to be exact). At the time, she claimed to have no more than $20 in her bank account.

Though D'Errico claimed the bulk of her debt was from her divorce eight years prior, it is hard to feel too bad for her given that she was clearly overspending. The star was receiving $7,800 in support from her ex-husband — plus 5% of his yearly earnings, which totaled in the millions — and had no real earnings of her own — but was living in a manner that required $10,991.04 a month to cover her bills. The pair redid their divorce agreement in 2015, and in 2016, D'Errico was promised a cut of any of Sixx's income over $1.6 million, up to a cap of $252,000 (for over $10 million in earnings). This was on top of the $8,200 the bassist was paying for his daughter. In 2019, D'Errico claimed Sixx owed her back child support and was miscalculating her spousal payments.

Though Donna D'Errico split from husband Nikki Six in 2006, she didn't immediately jump back into the dating pool. In fact, she said she didn't see anyone else for a full decade. When she was finally ready for some romance, D'Errico did what any D-list actor would do — she headed to reality television. In 2017, she appeared on the series "Million Dollar Matchmaker," which was Patti Sanger's follow-up to her entertaining Bravo series "The Millionaire Matchmaker." The new show aired on WE TV, and D'Errico was featured in the eighth episode of the 2nd (and final) season.

In the episode, D'Errico claimed to have not dated at all since her divorce, which Stanger and her assistant found totally outrageous. They set out to find her an eligible man, but D'Errico admitted she was carrying around a lot of emotional baggage. "I'm sure my marriage and my divorce still are affecting me today in some way," she said (via Entertainment Tonight). "I have a lot of walls up. I have gotten burned a lot of times. I keep people at a distance." The actor also admitted she was somewhat angry about being single and in her 40s and never envisioned her life like that.

Even the most beautiful among us need help to reach Hollywood's unreasonably high body standards. It's not surprising, then, that Donna D'Errico has gone under the knife on multiple occasions — including once in February 2017, wherein she got multiple surgeries at the same time. She went to Dr. Michael Obeng, a Harvard-trained plastic surgeon working out of Beverly Hills, who gave her an arm lift, tummy tuck, liposuction, and fat transfer to her buttocks. D'Errico presumably got some sort of deal, too, since she allowed the procedures to be filmed for use on the doctor's social media.

D'Errico was prompted to undergo the major transformation after losing a significant amount of weight, which she gained after her mother died from cancer. Gaining — and then losing — 40 pounds in a short amount of time left her with excessive loose skin that could not be worked off in the gym, leaving the actor feeling insecure. Though she clearly has no regrets, D'Errico has expressed frustration that people discount the hard work she put into her physique just because she has had plastic surgery. "I went in and got that buttoned up and have no shame in admitting that. It made me feel better and more confident," she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post (via Page Six). "People love to say I owe my body to plastic surgery. If saying that and believing that makes them feel better about themselves, go for it."

Donna D'Errico did not find love via Patti Stanger's television show, "Million Dollar Matchmaker," but her appearance on the series helped her get the ball rolling on dating again after a decade of singledom. In the years since, D'Errico has had two public relationships — one brief, one longer-term. The former was with Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons, not long after D'Errico's matchmaking experience was filmed. The pair dated in 2017 but kept things largely quiet — save for a few public date nights sightings and Instagram activity. Simmons has since been embroiled in scandal, and he moved to Bali in 2018 amidst multiple rape and sexual misconduct allegations and lawsuits.

D'Errico's more significant post-divorce relationship was with Donald Friese Jr. (who goes by DJ), whom she dated for nearly two years beginning sometime in 2017. The son of a billionaire businessman, Friese was no stranger to the Hollywood dating scene when he met D'Errico, having previously dated former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Brandi Glanville. In addition to being rich and cute, Friese had a lot in common with D'Errico. Both are parents, and both support animal welfare causes (Friese even runs a charitable organization of his own with animals as a major focus). While the coupling made total sense, the partnership ended in 2019. A source told tabloid The Blast that D'Errico was "pretty devastated" by the split, while Friese quickly rebounded with "Girls Next Door" star Kendra Wilkinson, fresh off her divorce from Hank Baskett.

Donna D'Errico's exact relationship with substances is hard to pin down. While the star is frequently cited as being sober, she was also the face of a strain of therapeutic cannabis released in 2018 called "Skinny." The brand was promoted as being good for weight loss, and D'Errico claimed it was her concept that led to the development of a product that would not create the munchies. It's unclear if the actor is still involved with the company or if she used the cannabis herself, let alone whether she still does. Then again, smoking or vaping would not necessarily be a dealbreaker for Hollywood's version of sobriety, since the laxer "California sober" model allows for some less harmful substances like weed.

In any case, D'Errico is most certainly off of the sauce and has been for years. In October 2021, she celebrated her one-year anniversary of abstaining from alcohol. "A lot of really cool things started happening when I stopped drinking," she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram (via Page Six). "I started making conscious decisions in every area of my life. I learned how to actually address my stressors instead of numbing them, and by doing so I realized you can't selectively numb. If you numb the bad, you also numb the good." D'Errico has also publicly celebrated subsequent anniversaries, although she maintains that though she was a binge drinker, she never experienced addiction.

When it comes to "Baywatch," people often separate the show's women into two camps — the blondes and the brunettes. The latter group includes the likes of Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, and Brooke Burns, while the former hasbeaut Gena Lee Nolin, Kelly Packard, and the iconic Pamela Anderson. Donna D'Errico was very much a part of the "blonde" faction, and her hair was a large part of her identity during her time on "Baywatch" and beyond. This is why it was so shocking when the star dyed her locks dark brown in 2021, changing her look so much that she became almost unrecognizable to all but hardcore fans.

While it can be risky for an actor to change their trademark hair, D'Errico's darker color has been a big hit. And since she's a big fan of posting throwbacks of old photoshoots, there are still plenty of blonde shots on her socials for those who prefer her old look. The big color shift — which makes D'Errico's big blue eyes appear even more gorgeous than before — took the star back to her natural hue. "Feeling happy, strong, and empowered today," she wrote in a November 2021 Instagram post showing off the new look, which took a full day to complete. The star made another hair transformation when she chopped her locks in August 2024, debuting a stunning shoulder-length cut. D'Errico has also started darkening her eyebrows to match her head hair, either through makeup or a more permanent solution.

While valid critiques of celebrities are one thing, it is far more common for negative social media comments to be hateful, unwarranted attacks on their looks, identities, and character. And while no star can ever be fully protected from the haters, those who post sexualized content attract a disproportionate amount of vitriol — and often, what can only be described as bullying behavior. One particular post Donna D'Errico made in 2022 — a 4th of July video featuring her in a patriotic bikini — received so much unnecessary negativity that she decided to call it out in a subsequent Instagram post. "Quite a few women complained about the 4th of July video I posted in a red white & blue bikini because they thought I was 'classier than that' and 'too old to wear a bikini' and, my favorite, 'desperate'," she wrote in her response, which was accompanied by a new bikini photo. "Let me tell you something that might surprise you. I can actually wear and do literally whatever I want."

D'Errico has since found herself a repeated target, but she is not afraid to push back against those who visit her profile to create problems rather than just staying away. "There's a group of women haters who routinely report all of my posts because it makes them feel better about themselves to see a thriving, confident woman get shadow banned and have to keep taking down all of her posts," D'Errico wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post in 2023 (via Page Six).

Many Hollywood stars have turned to OnlyFans as a supplementary means of income generation, and contrary to popular belief, this does not mean that they are all hawking pornography — although some of them are, and there is nothing wrong with that. Drea De Matteo, Cardi B, Sonja Morgan, and Whitney Cummings are four examples of stars with sans-nudity OnlyFans accounts, each with differing degrees of steamy content. Because of the hate she routinely receives for her bikini and lingerie photos, Donna D'Errico similarly turned to OnlyFans to post her content.

"All these celebs posting nude and topless pics of themselves here on IG and Twitter all the time covering their important bits with their hands," she wrote on Instagram when announcing her OnlyFans in August 2022. "Boom, thousands of likes & comments talking about body positivity and confidence and empowerment and you go girl! Hot! But take that same photo of that same celeb and put it on OF where she can control who sees it and now she's gross and hard up. People kill me."

While the account was free at first, she now charges $19.99 a month for access. Like many creators, D'Errico offers additional pay-per-view content. As of early 2023, the star claimed she was earning millions from her OnlyFans content — and that was before she even began charging to subscribe.

We already know that Donna D'Errico has no problem doing nudity, given that one of her biggest claims to fame is being a Playboy centerfold. In 2024, D'Errico decided to use her confidence to help promote a cause that she deeply cares about when she posed for a photoshoot for the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). As is typical for a PETA ad, D'Errico posed fully nude for the campaign, with her breasts and genitals hidden. And she is the perfect person to headline a PETA campaign urging people to "wear vegan" and shop for cruelty-free products, as she herself swore off meat sometime around 2013 after being exposed to a video of a factory farm.

Not only will D'Errico not eat animal products, but she won't wear them either. "The reason that I don't wear any animal products in my wardrobe or shoes or anything like that is just because I don't want to have animals suffer," she said in a promotional video posted to PETA's website. "I could never want to cause cruelty to animals like that. They can't live without their fur, skin, or feathers, but we can. To those who think that it might be difficult to transition to a vegan wardrobe, it's so not. I mean, there's so many amazing products out there and designers that have cruelty-free fashion that are just as good, if not better, and they're really cute."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).