You may remember Kimberly Oja from the early 2000s Baywatch spoof, Son of the Beach. Since then, however, she has not had many high-profile roles (apart from a recurring character on The O.C.).
So, what exactly has she been up to? Read on to learn all about Kimberly Oja, from her early days to what she’s doing now.
Early Days
Kimberly Oja was born not far from Hollywood, where she would later get her bigger acting roles, in Arcadia, California on February 21, 1969. She has blue eyes, and her hair when acting is usually dyed blonde. Although she was born in the L.A. area, Kimberly actually grew up in Oklahoma.
There isn’t a lot publicly known about her childhood, but she would appear to have begun acting seriously sometime in her twenties, as she began earning acting credits by the early 1990s.
Some of these first roles included TV movies, mini-series, and regular series, such as Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991), Lady Boss (1992), The Clinic (1995), and even major series such as Wings (1997) and Frasier (1997).
As she gained more and more appearances in a wide variety of TV series, as well as the TV movie Justice League of America (playing the character Ice), Kimberly was eventually cast as Kimberlee Clark in the Baywatch parody Son of the Beach (2000-2002), which we’ll cover in depth below.
Son of the Beach
If you’re a fan of irreverent sitcoms that love to dip into the vast well of slapstick comedy, then you may already know (and love) Son of the Beach. Executive produced (in part) by famous radio talk show host Howard Stern, Son of the Beach deploys a lot of the same type of humor that Stern has relied on his nationally syndicated show.
As mentioned, Son of the Beach is a spoof of Baywatch, so the action takes place largely on the beach. It follows the daily work life (and shenanigans) of Shore Patrol Force 30 (i.e. “SPF 30”).
Led by a clueless leader, the out-of-shape Notch Johnson (played by Timothy Stack), the team of lifeguards includes the character Kimberlee Clark (played by Kimberly Oja). Kimberly’s character stands out for her smarts, and she often takes the role of the “straight man” in the series, serving as a counterpoint to many of the airheads that surround her in SPF 30. In the series, which ran three seasons, Kimberlee Clark is assigned to SPF 30 as a spy to take down their leader, Notch Johnson. She ends up falling in love with him, however.
In addition to its irreverent and sexually focused humor, Son of the Beach is known for its many guest star cameos, including Jason Alexander (i.e. George Costanza), Mark Hamill, Gary Coleman, George Takei, Gilbert Gottfried, Neil Patrick Harris, and many more).
The series has not often run on cable since it ended, but in 2010 the Spike cable channel began airing reruns. The first two seasons are also available via DVD, including “Too Hot for TV” montages and other bonus features.
What did she do after Son of the Beach?
Following Son of the Beach, which was her longest-running role in a TV series, Kimberly Oja continued acting. She picked up minor guest roles on major TV series, including NCIS (2005), Two and a Half Men (2005), and The O.C. (2003-2006). With 9 episodes on The O.C., it marks Kimberly’s most recurring role besides Son of the Beach.
After her role in the film Channels, in 2008, it would appear that Kimberly retired from acting. Her only credit since 2008 is for the 25th-anniversary release of the video game Double Switch, which originally came out in 1993 and was an innovative, interactive movie-based game.
What Is Kimberly Oja Doing Now?
Like many actors, Kimberly Oja has found a second career after retiring from acting. Although her reasons for quitting the acting industry are unknown, Kimberly has since become a Nurse Practitioner.
After retiring from acting, she moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley, majoring in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. After obtaining her BA, she began working at the Berkeley Free Clinic as a medical assistant. She then trained as an adult/gerontology primary care nurse practitioner at UC San Francisco and worked with veterans at the VA Medical Center.
She worked at a family practice in the Mojave Desert area of Southern California before returning to the Bay Area to work with Dr. Hopkins (BASS Medical Group), a urologist practicing in Walnut Creek.
Personal Life
Kimberley’s maiden name is unknown, as she took on the last name Oja after marrying her husband Ray Oja in 1989. As this was before her acting career started, she was always credited as Kimberly Oja (or, more often, Kim Oja). Based on LinkedIn, Ray Oja is Managing Director at BlueZ Investments
It would appear that Kimberly and Ray’s marriage lasted from 1989-2006 when they divorced. It is not known if they had any children during this time.
On her professional work page, it states that “outside of work, Kim can be found bicycling up the sides of mountains.”
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