Pamela Denise Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia to Barry, a repairman, and Carol Anderson, a waitress. Her great-grandfather was Finnish. He changed his name to Anderson when he arrived in Canada as an immigrant. Pamela also has Russian ancestry on her mother’s side. When Pamela was born, she was named the country’s “Centennial Baby,” having been the first baby born on July 1, 1967, the 100th anniversary of Canada’s official founding. Later, her family moved to Vancouver where Pamela attended Highland Secondary School.
She was first “discovered” at a British Columbia Lions Canadian Football League game, when her image was shown on the stadium screen. The crowd cheered her, and she was later brought down to the football field. Eventually, Pamela signed a commercial contract with Labatt's beer to be the Blue Zone girl.
Due to the recognition from these commercials, Pamela was approached by Playboy to do her first cover for the magazine. She then decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue her modeling career. During her 22 years at Playboy, Pamela appeared on more magazine covers than any other woman. In February 1990, Pamela was named Playboy Playmate of the Month.
In 1991, Pamela started working on the ABC-TV sitcom Home Improvement. She left the show after two seasons when she landed a starring role as C.J. Parker on Baywatch. She played the role between 1992 and 1998. Baywatch became one of the most popular television shows of the time, seen in 140 countries worldwide.
In 1996, Pamela made the transition into feature films, starring in Dark Horse Entertainment's action comedy Barb Wire. In addition, she was featured in the CBS movie-of-the-week Come Die with Me: A Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mystery, which follows the adventures of fictional hard-boiled P.I. Mike Hammer.
Pamela was married to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, and they had two children, Brandon and Dylan. In 1996, a pornographic video of Pamela and Tommy was stolen from their home. Both of them sued a website for stealing the video. Their case was not settled and the video is still on the Internet. Two years later Pamela filed for divorce after claiming she had been assaulted by Tommy. Meanwhile, she starred in and produced her TV series V.I.P., which ran for four seasons until 2002. Pamela portrayed a woman who accidentally saves a celebrity and then is hired by a real bodyguard agency.
In 2001, she started dating singer Kid Rock, but they broke up in the fall of 2003. Pamela eventually reunited with Tommy Lee after she was diagnosed with hepatitis C, which she contracted when they shared the same needle for their tattoos. In 2003, Spike-TV network launched her latest action series, a cartoon, developed by Stan Lee, called Stripperella.
She appeared in the Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron film Baywatch (2017), based on the hit show she was part of in the '90s.
Pamela is an active participant in various organizations, including PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and dedicates her time by taking part in religious practices with children from around the world. In 2014, Pamela was at the Cannes Film Festival and publicly spoke at an animal rights event, revealing that she was sexually molested by her female babysitter, and gang raped by her boyfriend and his friends.
Filmography:
Baywatch (2017)
The Institute (2017)
The People Garden (2016)
Jackhammer (2014)
Costa Rican Summer (2010)
Superhero Movie (2008)
Blonde and Blonder (2007)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
Scooby-Doo (2002)
Naked Souls (1996)
Barb Wire (1996)
Raw Justice (1994)
Snapdragon (1993)
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)