Unrecognisable Baywatch star makes rare appearance since quitting acting

Yasmine Bleeth starred as Caroline Holden (Image: News International/REX/Shutte​rstock) Yasmine Bleeth looks unrecognisable while making a rare appearance since quitting acting 20 years ago.  The actress, who quickly became a fan-favorite for her portrayal of Caroline Holden in the 90s hit series Baywatch, was spotted going for coffee with a friend in Los Angeles.  Bleeth was all smiles as she casually strolled through a farmer’s market in a laid-back outfit of relaxed denim dungarees with a pink t-shirt underneath.  The 55-year-old completed her look with a ponytail, beige Birkenstocks, and a white tote handbag.  Unlike her former co-stars, Bleeth is rarely spotted in public since seemingly retiring from the big screens. Yasmine Bleeth was spotted enjoying coffee with a friend in Los Angeles (Image: Splash News ) This time, she was spotted with a friend who sported an all-black ensemble as they ordered coffee and sat down for a conversation.  According to onlookers via MailOnline, Bleeth and her pal spent an hour catching up where she ‘listened intently’ and seemed ‘disgusted by something as she stuck her tongue out.’ While her companion enjoyed a meal, the actress opted for an iced coffee before they headed to the car. At the height of Baywatch’s popularity, the action drama drew in 1.1 billion weekly viewers as it aired from 1981 until 2011. Yasmine Bleeth starred on Baywatch from 1993 until 1997 (Image: Baywatch Co/Kobal/REX/Shutterstoc​k) While Bleeth’s co-stars including Pamela Anderson, Jason Mamoa, and David Hasselhoff have enjoyed success, her career came to an unexpected end.  This was a result of challenges with substance abuse which impacted her professional life as she battled it in the public eye.  In a heartfelt 2003 essay published in Glamour via The Age , the star opened up about her drug addiction and the difficulty of staying clean as ‘many circumstances trigger my desire for it.”  Her addiction to cocaine also led to the demise of her Baywatch role which ended in 1997 after she was fired. Yasmine Bleeth turned her back on acting 20 years ago (Image: Splash News ) Baywatch’s screenwriter Douglas Schwartz lifted the lid on how Bleeth’s substance misuse issue made it difficult for the producers and writers to work with her.  In 2012, he told Esquire : ‘We had one issue with Yasmine Bleeth, who was doing drugs at the time, and so we were dealing with Yasmine not showing up and having difficulties, again with men. ‘That’s why we let Yasmine go off the show: because it was too difficult to deal with her after a while.’ After collapsing at a photo shoot, Bleeth checked into rehab where she met her husband businessman Paul Cerrito and the pair recently celebrated 20 years of marriage.