Who is Brooke Burns? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Brooke Elizabeth Burns

Age: 44 Years, 44 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Gavin O'Connor, Julian McMahon (m. 1999–2002)

father: Brad

mother: Betsy Burns

children: Madison Elizabeth McMahon

Born Country: United States

Actresses Game Show Hosts

Height: 5'8" (173 cm), 5'8" Females

Diseases & Disabilities: Titanium Fusion

City: Dallas, Texas

U.S. State: Texas

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Childhood & Early Life

Brooke Elizabeth Burns was born on March 16, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, USA, to Brad and Betsy Burns. She practiced ballet for 12 years before a skiing accident damaged her anterior cruciate ligament. The accident ended her dancing career which prompted Burns to focus on modeling, at the age of 15.

Burns and her family moved to Europe when she was 16 years old. In Europe, she lived in Paris, Munich, and Milan which helped her modeling career. She signed many modeling deals for the next two years before making her debut as an actress.

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Career

Brooke Burns made her acting debut in 1996, when she was cast to play Peg in 22 episodes of the American teen sitcom series ‘Out of the Blue.’ The following year, she was seen in series such as ‘Conan the Adventurer’ and ‘Ally McBeal.’

She received her breakthrough role in 1998, when she was roped in to play Jessie Owens in the popular TV series ‘Baywatch.’ She appeared in 46 episodes alongside actors like Kelly Packard and David Hasselhoff. Burns became a household name after her performance in the series.

She made her film debut in 2001 when she played Katrina in the American romantic comedy film ‘Shallow Hal.’ Directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, the film had Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow playing prominent roles.

In 2002, she appeared in three TV series, namely ‘Men, Women & Dogs,’ ‘A Nero Wolfe Mystery,’ and ‘Just Shoot Me!’ In the same year, she was selected to host the famous game show ‘Dog Eat Dog.’ She was nominated for a ‘Teen Choice Award’ for hosting 26 episodes, from June 2002 to August 2003.

After appearing in a couple of series in 2003, Burns played Nicole Booth from 2004 to 2005 in 21 episodes of ‘Fox’ network’s prime-time soap opera ‘North Shore.’ In 2005, she appeared in two straight-to-video films, ‘Single White Female 2: The Psycho’ and ‘Death to the Supermodels.’

In 2006, she appeared in one of the episodes of television sitcom series ‘Modern Men’ and then played Kathy Dinkle Williams in 13 episodes of the comedy-drama series ‘Pepper Dennis.’ In the same year, she was also seen in ‘Lifetime’ channel’s television film ‘Trophy Wife.’

She continued her association with ‘Lifetime’ channel as she appeared in two other television films titled ‘Time and Again’ and ‘Trial by Fire.’ She also played Sasha in the 2007 Harry Basil-directed horror film ‘Urban Decay.’ In 2008, she played Jennifer Cullen in ‘Hallmark’ network’s television film ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ and then played Lisa Germain in seven episodes of the American sitcom series ‘Miss Guided.’ In the same year, she also started hosting ‘Fox’ network’s game show ‘Hole in the Wall.’

In 2009, she appeared in ‘Lifetime’ channel’s television film ‘Mistresses’ in which she played Shannon Barnes. She was also seen in series such as ‘CSI: Miami,’ ‘Drop Dead Diva,’ and ‘Melrose Place.’ In 2010, she played Dr. Kim Patterson in the straight-to-video Shane Van Dyke-directed film ‘Titanic II.’

From 2011 to 2013, she appeared in five television films, namely ‘Fixing Pete,’ ‘Borderline Murder,’ ‘Undercover Bridesmaid,’ ‘A Star for Christmas,’ and ‘A Sister’s Revenge.’ From 2013 to 2015, she hosted 29 episodes of the American television quiz show ‘The Chase.’ For her impressive hosting skills, she received a ‘Daytime Emmy Award’ nomination for ‘Outstanding Game Show Host’ at the 41st ‘Daytime Emmy Awards.’ Meanwhile, she also hosted a TV show titled ‘Motor City Masters’ in 2014.

In 2015, she played Amy Boone in the Chris Dowling-directed drama film ‘Where Hope Grows.’ She then played detective Maggie Price in a series of television films from 2015 to 2017. Titled as ‘Gourmet Detective,’ the mystery film series is based on a book series of the same name. In 2017, she was seen in another TV film titled ‘Christmas Connection.’

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Family & Personal Life

Brooke Burns married actor Julian McMahon on December 22, 1999. Burns gave birth to a daughter, Madison Elizabeth McMahon, on June 10, 2000. Burns and McMahon got separated in the early 2000s and their marriage ended in divorce on January 7, 2002.

On November 11, 2005, Brooke Burns was hospitalized in Los Angeles after breaking her neck in an accident. Fortunately, she recovered completely without any signs of paralysis. However, she has a titanium fusion in her neck.

Burns married director, screenwriter, producer, and actor Gavin O'Connor on June 22, 2013. On January 22, 2017, Burns and O'Connor were blessed with their daughter, Declan Welles O'Connor.

Burns supports many charitable organizations. She is associated with ‘Life Rolls On Foundation,’ which aims at helping people with spinal cord injuries. She is also a part of ‘North American Spine Society’ (NASS) and ‘Think First National Injury Prevention Foundation,’ which aim at raising awareness of spinal cord injuries. While filming ‘Baywatch,’ she took part in a program called ‘Camp Baywatch,’ which taught inner-city children to swim.

She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, along with her daughters and husband. She has thousands of followers on social media platform Twitter.

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