Pamela Bach met David Hasselhoff on the set of Knight Rider in the 1980s, married him in 1989 and appeared alongside him in Baywatch, the lifeguard drama that became one of the most-watched television shows in the world. She died at her home in Los Angeles in early March 2025. She was 62. The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office later said she had died by suicide.
Her career
Bach was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1963 and began working as a model and actress in her twenties. She had guest roles in 1980s television series including Knight Rider, and appeared in the soap opera The Young and the Restless. In Baywatch, she played Kay Morgan, a television reporter who became the love interest of Hasselhoff’s character, Mitch Buchannon, in the early seasons. She was also one of the leads in Sirens, a 1990s police drama about three female officers in Pittsburgh. She later appeared in the 2000 thriller Castle Rock.
Her marriage
The couple’s marriage ended in 2006 after 17 years, in a bitter and very public divorce in which Bach accused Hasselhoff of domestic abuse, which he denied. Their daughters, Taylor and Hayley, were teenagers at the time. After her death Hasselhoff said his family was heartbroken and asked for privacy.
Bach’s best-known work came in the years when Baywatch was being watched in more than a hundred countries, and she was part of the show’s story on and off the screen. If you are struggling, in the US you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be reached on 116 123.