Gena Lee Nolin was born in Duluth, Minnestota. She grew up on her family's farm and as a tomboy. Her
diet was that of fatty foods. As an athletic child, she enjoyed skating, basketball, playing volleyball and softball. She
went up for every team in school. When Gena was a little girl, she used to have a little blanket that she would play with
as she sucked her thumb.
Gena had her share of problems with jealous girls in High School. Once, she got into a fist fight when a
girl accused her of stealing her boyfriend even though she had never met him! The girl got so jealous, that she came at Gena
and started throwing punches. Defending herself, Gena swung and knocked her out cold. The girl was unconscious. Neely's family
moved to Las Vegas while she was a senior in high School. Friends kept suggesting that she enter the Miss Las Vegas
contest. She took the advice and won the title!
She gained the attention of several Modeling Agencies, winning the Ford
Agency and Elite Agency regional Look of the Year contest and the Miss Barbizon USA national
title.
Gena had breast enhancement surgery in 1993. She went from an "A" to
a "B" cup. She did it because of her height and thought that it would give her better proportions. Gena has stated that she
didn't do it to get parts or win beauty shows. She had no ambition to do anything like that. She met her future husband Greg
Fahlman who is a video producer, while passing out flyers.
In 1994, Gena saw an ad in the paper for a popular long running game show,
The Price is Right. In the cattle call audition, she beat out 1,200 other women to become one of the game
show's showcase models. For Gena, this was the perfect job. They worked three days a week, filming two shows a day with the
ten-day break every two weeks. It allowed her time to continue with her studies and auditions. In that same year, she appeared
on the CBS daytime soap, The Young and the Restless. Gena played a young model named Sandy.
Her credits include the special, The 50th Anniversary of the Bikini/USA
NETWORK/1996. Gena also hosted The Gena Lee Nolin Party Games on America Online. Gena has appeared on national
commercials for Home Depot, Starburst and Hyundai and acted as a spokesperson for Sassoon jeans and Clothestime.
Gena went on an audition for Baywatch. She read for the producers and had
to swim. She hadn't had swimming lessons since she was a child, but she did fine. When she had to read again for them, David
Hasselhoff held up a message. It said that she got the part! Not believing it, she kept on reading. It didn't hit her until
later that she actually got the part. She was a perfect overwhelming success in the role of the scheming and deceitful Neely
Capshaw. Gena had replaced actress Heather Campbell, who had originated the role in the 5th season episode Wet 'N' Wild.
Gena had an unplanned pregnacy during the filming of the show's 7th season.
During her hiatus from the show, Gena gave birth to a baby boy, Spencer Michael Fahlman on Tuesday, June 3, 1997. He weighed
8 pounds. After the birth, Gena didn't waste any time getting back into shape.
She later took her baby to the Producer's office and David Hasselhoff freaked!
They all liked the idea of her being a mother and decided that Neely should be one as well. Her story line was changed in
a matter of seconds. Just like that! She was told that there was no hurry to get back to work. This gave Gena a chance to
spend needed time with her baby. Gena inherited Pamela Anderson's costly, top of the line trailer, which had plenty of room
for the baby and baby stuff, but she did not inherit Pamela's salary.
Gena was featured on the 1997 November/December cover of Maxim magazine.
During her pregnacy, Gena was on the Fall 1997/Special issue cover of Shape Pregnacy magazine. As well as the 1997
November/December cover of Porthole travel magazine with the Baywatch cast.
Gena decided not to return to Baywatch for its 9th season. Instead,
she had decided to move on and pursue other projects offered including the series, Sheena. Before making the decision
not to return, she was grateful that she was one of the actresses not given the "pink slip" to restructure the
show.
Gena and husband Greg Fahlman ended their marriage in 2001. Having been married
to Greg for 8 years and being with him for 10, Gena stated that she didn't know how to date anymore. She
did want a new love in her life, but not at that time. The two were not living together, but remained friends. Over the
years, she and Greg became more like business partners than as a married couple and it took its toll. They both
realized that they were better off being friends than pretending to be a romantic married couple. Gena stated that
there were no affairs or anything else that caused the break up. They made a very peaceful decision and were ready to say
goodbye. Greg agreed and added that that they were separated and it was a sad situation, but life goes on.
