Brooks Nader Reveals Which OG Baywatch Star She Connected with Ahead of Filming Reboot (Exclusive)

Brooks Nader at the 2026 Fox Upfront in N.Y.C. on May 11.Credit : Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Brooks Nader is letting the Baywatch legends guide her along the way.

Nader, 29, is set to star in the upcoming reboot of the lifeguard-focused series, and she got some helpful advice from another famous face who once rocked the iconic red swimsuit.

While at the 2026 Fox Upfront in New York City on May 11, Nader told PEOPLE exclusively that she recently got to meet OG Baywatch star Carmen Electra.

Brooks Nader; Carmen Electra.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty”She’s so kind and sweet, and was so complimentary of the series and the new cast. She’s excited for it,” Nader said of Electra. “So that was really special because she’s an icon, obviously.”

Electra, 54, appeared on the original Baywatch series as Lani McKenzie starting in 1997. Days after Fox announced the new series last year, she shared that she would be open to returning to the Baywatch world, teasing that she was “talking to” the team behind the reboot.

Addressing the possibility of reprising her role as Lani, she told TMZ at the time that it “could be fine.

“I don’t know if I’d want to be in the water necessarily, but I could do the slow-motion run — I can definitely do that,” she added.

The ‘Baywatch’ reboot cast at the 2026 Fox Upfront in N.Y.C. on May 11.Stephanie Augello/FOX via GettyAt the Fox Upfront event, Nader also opened up about her dynamic with her Baywatch reboot costars, who include Livvy Dunne, Shay Mitchell, Noah Beck, Stephen Amell, Jessica Belkin, Hassie Harrison, Thaddeus LaGrone and David Chokachi.

“I think all the ladies and the males of the cast have a great, great bond and an amazing workflow together. The girls and I are all so close,” she said. “Shay, Hassie and I are like a little trio, and we love being together. So it’s easy to get along with these girls. Livvy, I’ve known forever from Sports Illustrated. Jess is incredibly talented and so sweet. So it’s like a little sorority.”

Nader is playing Selene, described by Fox as “the sharp-tongued Captain of the Zuma beach lifeguards.”

“While [Selene] is excellent at her job, she and Baywatch Captain Hobie Buchannon have a very different approach to saving lives that is a constant source of friction,” her character’s bio reads. “Never on good terms, their relationship only goes downhill after Hobie brings his daughter Charlie onto his team… and it becomes clear that their rivalry goes much deeper than lifeguarding.”

“You have to because, I said this earlier, one of the founders of Baywatch, the franchise, told us day one when we were learning CPR, he was like, ‘Actually pay attention to the skill of CPR and how you actually administer it because we’ve had hundreds of letters a day sent to the Baywatch franchise from people all over the world saying like, I saved my daughter’s life because I watched Baywatch and I learned CPR,’ ” she explained.

Brooks Nader on the set of ‘Baywatch’ in California.BACKGRIDNader added that the founder’s speech gave her “a responsibility to take the training seriously because you really don’t know who you could be saving that’s watching at home.”

In another interview with PEOPLE at The Daily Front Row’s 10th Annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards on April 14, Nader joked that she can now “only run in slow-mo” as “that’s my new personality.”

“I’ve been doing this since I was like 2 years old,” she added. “I’ve been ready for this. I’m like, ‘I got this.’ I’ve been watching the videos of [Pamela Anderson] and Carmen Electra. I’m ready for this.”

Outside of the Baywatch reboot, Nader has appeared on her Freeform reality series, Love Thy Nader, which premiered in August 2025 and has since been renewed for a second season.

Nader also competed on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars. She and her pro dance partner, Gleb Savchenko, made it to ninth place in the show.

The 12-episode reboot of Baywatch is slated to premiere either later this year or early next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.