Brooks Nader Reveals How She ‘Manifested’ Role in New ‘Baywatch’ Reboot

Brooks Nader is in her acting era. The Sports Illustrated supermodel was recently cast in the new Baywatch reboot, where she’ll be playing Selene, “the sharp-tongued Captain of the Zuma beach lifeguards.”

Filming for the new series is now underway, and Brooks has already been seen wearing the iconic red swimsuit in various photos. This is her first major acting role, and she tells TV Insider that it’s something she thinks she “manifested” after years of being a “huge fan” of the franchise.

“When I shot my Sports Illustrated cover in the red one-piece, I picked that one off the rack because I was like, ‘This is so Baywatch. I have to shoot in this,'” Brooks, who is partnering with the natural women’s body care brand Jukebox for a “Sisterhood of Naked Ambition” campaign with her three sisters, says. “Lo and behold, it became the cover, which was amazing. It’s kind of a full-circle moment to see that that was in 2023 and we’re now in 2026, and that dream became a reality. … My superpowers are scaring me!”

The manifestation began when Brooks started spending time in Los Angeles while competing on Dancing With the Stars in 2024. “Just being in L.A. and all the things people love in L.A., like the beach … Baywatch is a huge part of that,” she explains. “I don’t know, I feel like I have been hoping for that one for a really long time, and it finally came true. When those full-circle moments happen, that’s what makes it all worth it.”

While she couldn’t share how she got the role, she did credit director Joseph “McG” McGinty Nichol with fighting for her to get the part. “He did all these iconic films and champions people so hard and really, really fights for them,” she shares. “He was like, ‘You are going to do this and you’re going to be great at it.'”

Mostly, Brooks was speechless over the casting news “I don’t even have any other words. None of it has even set into me yet at all. I’m truly lost for words,” she admits. “My parents are like, ‘We didn’t even know you wanted to act.’ I’m like, ‘I didn’t know this was what the plan was either,’ but it’s just such a blessing. I’m really excited to see. I’m sure you’re going to love it. It’s such an iconic series.”

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For those who are skeptical about another rebooted series, Brooks points out that “there’s such an amazingly talented team” behind the show that will make it great. “We’ve all just started to come together, and the energy is unmatched,” she dishes. “I just think it’s going to be a huge hit. With the people that are involved, it can’t not be.”

In fact, she says she loves that there may be doubters. “I actually love when people are skeptical about a project I’m doing because I feel like it fuels you more to overachieve and really succeed at it and put out something amazing,” she concludes. “Of course, there’s people who are like, ‘You’re a model, you don’t act, you’re on reality TV,’ but I think we live in such a hybrid world that you can do multiple things and wear many hats. I want to prove people wrong.”

Brooks and her sisters’ “Sisterhood of Naked Ambition” campaign is dropping on March 30 at 11:11 a.m. and provides consumers with crystal-shaped soap pieces that the Naders used to manifest real-life wins. The soap pieces are meant to be kept like crystals, with hopes of the manifestation rubbing off on its purchaser.

Jukebox

For Mary Holland Nader, that manifestation is for the company, Mary & Pip, she started in 2025. “My manifestation was to be No. 1 in the app store, which is coming soon,” she promised. For Sarah Jane Nader she’s hoping for a “huge [magazine] cover on my own” as she grows her modeling career. Finally, Grace Ann Nader is working on non-profit work, “specifically with girls’ education.” She says, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while and am actually starting a program that’s going to provide educational materials to girls in Africa: books, libraries, study spaces. That’s kind of a vision I’ve had for a long time that’s coming to life.”

The ladies teased that we’ll get to see them work towards these manifestations on Season 2 of Love Thy Nader, which is expected to premiere later this year.