Kelly Rohrbach Walton has moved behind the camera for a new Hollywood chapter shaped by motherhood, independent filmmaking and a commitment to supporting young women.
The actress and former Sports Illustrated model, best known for playing C.J. Parker in Paramount Pictures’ 2017 Baywatch movie, is producing Baby/Girls, a documentary centered on three teenagers experiencing pregnancy and early motherhood at Compassion House, a maternity home in Springdale, Arkansas.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Rohrbach Walton said raising her children is now her central focus. She married Walmart heir Steuart Walton in 2019, has welcomed two children and is expecting a third.
“It’s a very hands-on season of motherhood. And spending time with my children is my biggest priority,” she said. Outside her family life, she added, her work is focused on expanding opportunities for young women in the heartland, particularly mothers facing difficult circumstances.
A Personal Story of Young Motherhood
Directed by Alyse Walsh and Jackie Jesko, Baby/Girls follows Grace, 15, Olivia, 16, and Ariana, 17, in a region described as having some of the country’s highest teen birth rates. Rather than ending with their pregnancies, the film continues into their lives as new mothers who are still navigating adolescence themselves.
The documentary examines the realities confronting the teenagers, including the value of dependable support systems and the resources young mothers need. Rohrbach Walton was introduced to the project through Latchkey Films, her producing partner, after a friend alerted the company to Compassion House’s nonprofit work.
“After working on this issue from a more macro level, I really wanted to get to know these young women personally, and to put faces and lives to these statistics,” she said.
Filming took place over two years and began shortly after Rohrbach Walton became pregnant with her first child. She said the vulnerability she experienced as a new mother deepened her response to young women going through motherhood without the same resources or support.
The project also connected her with a region that she had not known well before meeting her husband. Rohrbach Walton grew up on the East Coast and spent 15 years on the West Coast. Steuart Walton, the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, near Rogers, where Walmart was founded in 1962.
Rohrbach Walton said it has been rewarding to encounter different communities in the American heartland and bring to the screen people whose lives are not often portrayed.
Building Maybe? Productions
Baby/Girls is the first film from Maybe? Productions, the independent production company Rohrbach Walton founded in 2023. The company operates without outside investors or established studio partners, a model she said gives its projects time to develop without external restrictions.
The company’s name comes from a Taoist parable in which a community repeatedly decides that events are either good or bad, only for their meaning to change over time. Rohrbach Walton said that idea reflects her interest in withholding judgment and telling stories that leave viewers more curious rather than more certain.
That philosophy informed the approach to Baby/Girls. Rohrbach Walton wanted the teenagers to speak for themselves without having their experiences forced into a predetermined narrative. She also sought to keep the attention on the young women rather than the political debate surrounding teen pregnancy.
“I wanted to be honest about what we saw, including the difficult parts of their life, without exploiting anyone or forcing their story into a narrative,” she said. Her hope is that audiences will listen with greater empathy and better understand both the complexity of the issue and the actual needs involved.
Why Acting No Longer Fits
Rohrbach Walton last appeared onscreen in 2019. She played recurring character Cassidy Reid in four episodes of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone and portrayed Terry in Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York. She has also remained largely outside the public spotlight and has not posted on Instagram since 2018.
She is not currently seeking a return to acting, saying producing better matches her curiosity, her life with young children and her desire for greater control over her schedule.
Her first major studio role came in Baywatch, Paramount’s film adaptation of the television series that ran from 1989 to 2001. She took on Pamela Anderson’s character and starred alongside Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario and Priyanka Chopra. Although the movie received mixed reviews and fell short of box-office expectations, Rohrbach Walton remembers the experience fondly.
She also said she remains in contact with castmates and others involved in the film. With another Baywatch television reboot set to premiere on Fox next year, she wished the new version success and said those connected to the movie are pleased that the franchise is continuing.
ShowBiz Take
Rohrbach Walton’s transition is more than a move from acting to producing. Baby/Girls brings together the defining priorities of her current life: hands-on motherhood, control over her time and a desire to tell stories with social impact. By making the documentary the first release from her independently financed company, she is establishing both the subject matter and the creative approach that she wants Maybe? Productions to represent.
What Happens Next?
After premiering at SXSW in March, Baby/Girls continued on the festival circuit, with DOC NYC scheduled as its next appearance from Nov. 11–19. Rohrbach Walton is working to secure distribution while also developing the documentary’s educational reach.
A shorter, 40-minute edition has been created for schools, community centers and churches throughout the heartland, with the goal of making it a free and accessible resource. An accompanying impact campaign also gives audiences a way to support nonprofits assisting young mothers and organizations pursuing systemic change.
Meanwhile, Rohrbach Walton is searching for the next Maybe? Productions project—one that, in her words, helps people “see one another more fully” while creating connection and compassion.