Dance troupe

Sources claim that Robin Antin began exploring the idea of a modern burlesque troupe in 1993 with her friend Christina Applegate. The dance troupe's first performance was in 1995. During this period, they performed with numerous guest vocalists, with a repertoire of 1950s and 1960s pop standards while dressed in lingerie or old-fashioned pin-up costumes.

They secured a Thursday night residency at Los Angeles nightclub The Viper Room, where they stayed from 1995 to 2001. The troupe received wider press coverage in June 1999, when Playboy ran a Pussycat Dolls pictorial, featuring at least seven contemporary members. Three years later, the Dolls moved to The Roxy. The group became internationally popular and was featured in magazines, television specials for MTV and VH1, ad campaigns, and movies. Some of the Pussycat Dolls appeared in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, dancing to "The Pink Panther Theme".

Along with Christina Applegate, Christina Aguilera and Carmen Electra (who was the group's lead performer for many of their shows) the troupe was featured in a Maxim Magazine shoot in 2002, which greatly spiked interest in the Dolls. Overnight, they went from virtual unknowns to being a sensation with men of all ages. Due to this new popularity, and with the involvement of music producers Jimmy Iovine and Ron Fair, the Pussycat Dolls were re-cast, transformed into a pop and R&B recording group, and became employees of Iovine's label Interscope Records. The only troupe member who remained after the re-casting process was Carmit Bachar. Electra, when asked about her lack of involvement with the groups evolution into a pop group, said: "I was part of the Dolls for over two years and did every show with them... but financially, I couldn't become part of their new music project... It was a sacrifice I couldn't make." However, she did make a cameo appearance in the music video for "Don't Cha" which also featured Busta Rhymes. In late 2003, Electra formed another burlesque troupe called The Bombshell Babies, which included ex-Dolls Staci Flood and Nadine Ellis.