Nancy Valen is an American actress and television producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

. She is best known for portraying Captain Samantha Thomas

Samantha Thomas

Samantha Thomas is a fictional character from the TV series Baywatch from series 7. She was a captain and had an elevated position at Baywatch headquarters. She was played by Nancy Valen from 1996 to 1997.- Notes :...

 on Baywatch

Baywatch

Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...

.
Nancy Valen was born and raised in Hallandale, Florida, on the beach of the southern Atlantic coast. By the time she was 12 years old, she was spending summers modeling in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and studied acting at Uta Hagen

Uta Hagen

Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-born American actress and drama teacher. She originated the role of Martha in the 1963 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee...

's HB Studios. After graduating from a performing arts high school in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Valen won a theatrical scholarship to the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

.