Career

Television

From 1998 to 2001, Burns starred in Baywatch as the character Jessie Owens. In 2001, she appeared as Vicki Vale in one of several "Batman" commercials for OnStar, opposite Bruce Thomas's Batman. Burns hosted NBC's Dog Eat Dog from June 2002 to August 2003 and was nominated for a Teen Choice Award. Burns starred in North Shore, a prime-time soap opera that ran for 21 episodes in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she starred in the WB series Pepper Dennis playing Kathy Dinkle. In 2009, Burns appeared in the first twelve episodes of the updated Melrose Place playing Vanessa, the most recent wife of Dr. Michael Mancini (Thomas Calabro) and mother of his older son's five-year-old son, Noah. Burns was given the chance to participate in the first season of the ABC celebrity diving reality competition Splash but turned it down because of an injury she had received when diving a few years before.[4]

Burns has also appeared on Ally McBeal, Just Shoot Me!, Drop Dead Diva, CSI: Miami, Out of the Blue, To Tell the Truth, and Average Joe: Hawaii. She was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for best game show host on the GSN game show The Chase with Mark Labbett.[5]

Film

For her role in the 2001 film Shallow Hal, the Farrelly brothers wrote a specific part for Burns after deciding during her audition that she was the "prettiest dorky girl" they'd ever met.[3] She appeared in a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, co-starring Henry Winkler, on December 13, 2008. Other films include Smokejumpers, Dancing Trees, Trophy Wife, Art of Travel, and Time and Again. Burns appears in the Nickelback video "Trying Not to Love You" opposite Jason Alexander. Burns and Alexander both appeared in the 2001 movie Shallow Hal.

Personal life

Burns was married to actor Julian McMahon from 1999 to 2001. McMahon is the son of the former Prime Minister of Australia Sir William McMahon. They have a daughter - Madison Elizabeth McMahon - who was born in June 2000.[6]

She is married to film director Gavin O'Connor;[7] they married on June 22, 2013. She currently resides in Los Angeles.[3]

In October 2016, it was announced that Burns was expecting her second child, a girl;[8] Burns announced that her daughter, Declan Welles, was born January 22, 2017.[9]

Health and injuries

On November 10, 2005, Burns broke her neck in a diving accident.[3][10] Although she made a full recovery, she has a titanium fusion in her neck consisting of a plate, rod, and 10 screws.[3]

Charitable activities

When Burns was filming Baywatch, she was involved with Camp Baywatch, teaching inner-city children to swim and lifeguard.[3] Burns also supports the Life Rolls On Foundation, an organization that aims to help people with spinal cord injuries return to an active lifestyle.[11] In 2006, as a result of her diving injury, she became involved with the Think First National Injury Prevention Foundation and the North American Spine Society, which aim to raise awareness of spinal injuries.[12]

Filmography