Carmit Bachar

Carmit Bachar is engaged to her longtime partner Kevin Whitaker. On September 18, 2011, their daughter Keala Rose was born. “I was a little nervous before the birth in case my daughter also got a cleft lip or palate as I didn’t want her to go through what I had to, but she was fine,” she said in an interview.

She is an ambassador of Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity that helps improve the health and lives of children and young adults born with facial defects. She also started her own charity project ‘Smile with Me’ to inspire and help build self-esteem in children and teens born with cleft lip and palates.

Carmit Bachar was born on September 4, 1974, in Los Angeles and was raised in Encino, California. She is of mixed Israeli, Dutch, Indonesian, and Chinese descent. Both her parents were dancers—her mother was a dance teacher at Bancroft Middle School of Performing Arts and her father worked with Elvis Presley and Marcel Marceau.

Carmit attended the Hamilton Academy of Music in L.A., and studied music, dance, piano and viola. She was an athletic girl and for ten years she competed internationally as a rhythmic gymnast, and was placed 5th in the US Olympic trials in 1992.

She was born with a cleft lip and palate, and she underwent a number of operations from the age of six months till she was 18, to correct the defect. Throughout her childhood and adolescence, her classmates bullied her for her defect, and some agents even rejected her, and advised her not to pursue a career in entertainment. When she was 18, her final operation, which was a major one, took place. A bone was taken from her head to build a bridge in her nose.

At the age of 18, she left school to pursue a singing and dancing career before she joined The Pussycat Dolls.

Carmit Bachar joined The Pussycat Dolls in 1995. It is an American all-girl dance and burlesque troupe, founded in Los Angeles by choreographer Robin Antin. In 2003, the group signed a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records, turning the group into a music franchise, and Carmit was the first to be signed into the recording group.

Carmit was one of the three lead vocalists in the group, and had lead parts in the singles from their successful debut album ‘PCD’—‘Beep’, ‘Buttons’, ‘I Don't Need a Man’, and ‘Hot Stuff (I Want You Back).’ Released on September 12, 2005, the album explored the themes of feminism and romance, and incorporated sexual innuendo in its lyrics. In 2006 and 2007, she toured with the group to promote this album, which sold in millions.

Carmit quit The Pussycat Dolls in March 2008 to pursue other projects. The group’s second album ‘Doll Domination’ was released by Interscope Records in September 2008 after her departure. The album received only lukewarm response.

In 1997, Carmit Bachar performed in the Nickelodeon Movies film, ‘Good Burger’, and was credited as a dancer. She also appeared in several other films, including ‘13 Going on 30’, ‘Along Came Polly’, ‘The Scorpion King’ and ‘Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle’.

As a dancer she has toured and appeared live in many rock/pop shows. In 1999 and 2000, she toured across the globe with singer Ricky Martin as the “Livin' La Vida Loca girl.”

In 2001, she danced for Aaliyah's music video ‘Rock the Boat’. In the same year, she, along with Lee Cherry, Scarlett Cherry, and others started an 'underground' nightclub called Freedom, where she performed "multi-genre cabaret".

In 2003, she toured with the American rock band ‘No Doubt’, and appeared on stage with Gwen Stefani, giving live performances. She appeared in more than 21 music videos including Macy Gray's ‘Sexual Revolution’, Jennifer Lopez's ‘Ain't It Funny’, Wyclef Jean's ‘Perfect Gentleman’, the Black Eyed Peas' ‘Shut Up’, and many others.

In 2004, she was a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl half-time show. She was also a dancer for Beyoncé's tours and appeared on her 2004 DVD Live at Wembley.