Pamela Anderson played the role in the original TV series, but now it's Kelly Rohrbach bringing her to life.
Speaking to W magazine, she explained what has changed between then and now.
“I really felt like I owned it,” she said, admitting that changes were made to the script when she felt CJ was coming across too “dismissive”.
Now, she has a love interest - Ronnie (Jon Bass) - and they’re more on a level playing field than just the stereotypical geeky guy lusting after the blonde beauty.
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I tried to make her less of an object and more of a person
“We’re sort of both awkward around each other now, both fumbling over our words,” Rohrbach revealed.
"I tried to make her less of an object and more of a person.”
The Seth Gordon-directed movie is beginning its premiere rollout around the world, and is due in cinemas on May 29.
Rohrbach, best known for being a model, gets her biggest acting role so far in the big-screen adaptation, after playing roles in the short My Last Film and 2012’s Wilt.
Baywatch Miami premiere
She has also had a string of TV appearances: in Broad City (2016), Two and a Half Men (2013) and A New Normal (2013).
The beauty is joined in Baywatch by the likes of Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra and Alexandra Daddario, while Anderson herself makes a fleeting cameo.
Baywatch is out in the UK on May 29.