Pamela Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-born actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl. She is best known for being Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for February 1990, as well as her roles on television shows such as Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P.
She has appeared on Married... with Children and its spin-off Top of the Heap, as well as being mentioned in multiple episodes of MWC after her career grew.
Early life[]
Pamela was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, the daughter of Barry, a furnace repairman, and Carol (née Grosco) Anderson, a waitress.[1] Her great-grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, was Finnish, a native of Saarijärvi, and left the Grand Duchy of Finland (which was a part of the Russian Empire at the time) in 1908.[2] He changed his name to Anderson when he arrived as an immigrant. Anderson also has Russian ancestry on her mother's side.[3] After graduating from École Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver and worked as a fitness instructor.
Discovery[]
During the summer of 1989, Anderson went with friends to a BC Lions Canadian Football League game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, during which live video of her wearing a tightly-fitted Labatt's Beer t-shirt was shown on the stadium's huge video screen, causing an immense roar of approval from the crowd for the beautiful 21-year-old. As part of a PR event for the brewery, she was then escorted down to field level to wide applause. From that event, her photographer boyfriend Dan Ilicic produced a poster of his own called the Blue Zone Girl.[4]
Playboy magazine appearances[]
In the aftermath of her sudden Vancouver notoriety, Pamela appeared as the cover girl on Playboy magazine's October 1989 issue. At that point she decided to live in Los Angeles to further pursue her modeling career ambitions. Playboy subsequently chose her as Playmate of the Month in their February 1990 issue, in which she appeared in the centrefold photo. Pamela then elected to have breast implant surgery. Anderson has since appeared in Playboy several times in the 1990s and 2000s.
Anderson's Playboy career spans four decades (1989–2011), and she has appeared on more Playboy covers than anyone else.[5] She has also made appearances in the publication's newsstand specials. Anderson wrote the foreword in the Playboy coffee table book Playboy's Greatest Covers.
Acting Career[]
Television[]
After appearing in Playboy magazine, her acting started to grow. She appeared on shows such as Charles in Charge, and Married... with Children before landing a recurring role on the ABC sitcom, Home Improvement as Lisa, The Tool Time Girl for its first two seasons. (coincidentally, after Anderson left the show, her character was replaced by Heidi, The Tool Time Girl played by Debbe Dunning who also appeared on MWC during season 5. Both actress later appeared together on the show during Anderson's guest appearance in the sixth season).
Her most well known acting role was as lifeguard Casey Jean "C.J." Parker on the syndicated television show Baywatch (which also featured several MWC guest stars such as Traci Bingham, Nicole Eggert, and Donna D'Errico ) from 1992 to 1997. She also appeared in the 2003 film, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. Additionally, she made a cameo in the 2017 film version of Baywatch.
From 1998 to 2002, she starred in the syndicated action/comedy-drama series, V.I.P., as Vallery Irons, a woman who accidentally saves a celebrity and then is hired by a real bodyguard agency that names itself as "V.I.P." (Vallery Irons Protection) while using her as a famous figurehead. The show would often feature celebrities playing themselves as clients for the agency including MWC guest stars Jerry Springer, Gilbert Gottfried, Bill Maher, Shannon Tweed and Pauly Shore. Some also played a character on the show including Ian Ziering, Robert Torti, Dean Norris, David Leisure, Morgan Brittany, Noah Blake, and Danny Lee Clark.
Movies[]
Her best known movie role to date was the 1996 superhero film, Barb Wire playing the titular character. Her other films include Borat, Superhero Movie, Scary Movie 3, Blonde and Blonder, and The Institute.
Music Videos[]
She has appeared in music videos for various rock bands, musicians and rappers. Some include "Miserable" by Lit (who also appeared as themselves in an episode of V.I.P.), "Touch the Sky" by Kanye West featuring Lupe Fiasco, "Get Naked" by Methods of Mayhem (featuring her former husband Tommy Lee and referencing the events of their leaked sex tape), "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash, "You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me" by Kid Rock (her boyfriend/husband during the mid 2000s), "Hey Papi" by Jay-Z, and "Blind Man" by Aerosmith.
Books[]
She is also the author of the autobiography Love, Pamela (2023) and the plant-based cookbook I Love You: Recipes from the Heart (2024).
Appearances / References on MWC and TOTH[]
Besides appearing as Yvette and Cashew, in later seasons of MWC, Anderson is mentioned by name is several episodes as she was well known by the mid 1990s for her role on Baywatch.
In "Route 666 (Part 1)", the February 1991 issue of Playboy that features Anderson on the cover can be seen briefly in the pile of Playboy magazines that Bud Bundy tried to sneak up from the basement.
In "Dud Bowl", Al forms a huddle with his fellow Polk High Panthers during their game against the Jacqueline Onassis High First Ladies. He tries to encourage his teammates by telling them, "This one's for us and 'Baywatch's' Pamela Anderson!"
In "And Bingo Was Her Game-O", after the NO MA'AM members finally start drinking, Ike and Bob Rooney, in a drunken stupor, starting fighting over Pamala Anderson and German fashion model, Claudia Schiffer.
In "Love Conquers Al", Al gathers the men at Dr. Richelieu's retreat and suggest that they takes their wives out on a midnight stroll, letting them nag and blame everything on them, before telling their wives "I'm sorry", all while thinking about Pamela Anderson.
In "Requiem for a Chevyweight (Part 1)", when Al sees Bud on the computer, he finds a printout and asks him why does he have a picture of "Pamela Lee naked on a slip-n-slide".
Personal life[]
In recent years, Anderson has been derided by some critics over her choices of men and her sexual openness, some even accusing her of being "a slut". In late 2005, Anderson even jokingly said "I am the greatest slut...", confirming her openness about sex and her opinions in free sex. In late 2007, Anderson stated on the Ellen DeGeneres Show that she had sex with a man to pay off a debt of $125,000. The man was Rick Solomon, who would later become her third husband; they later divorced.
Critics have said that Anderson has a "bad taste in men", in response to her recent three divorces. Pamela was married to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee from 1995-97, and have two sons together, Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee. She then married rapper/rock musician/singer Kid Rock in 2006, divorcing in 2007. She also dated model Marcus Schenkenberg briefly after her divorce from Tommy Lee in 2000-01.
For a time, she was known as "Pamela Anderson Lee" (or "Pamela Lee") after marrying Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. She maintains dual Canadian and American citizenship.[6]
Anderson is a notable member of the Animal Rights movement and has conducted campaigns condemning the commercial fur industry and promoting veganism[7] through the animal welfarist organisation PETA.
In recent years, she has garnered attention for choosing to go for a natural / no make up look while in her 50s.
References[]
- ↑ Pamela Anderson profile at FilmReference.com. Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2010-08-02.
- ↑ News. Pamwatch. Retrieved on 2010-08-02.
- ↑ Bang Showbiz. "Pamela Anderson's mom wish", The Boston Globe, 19 June 2008.
- ↑ Pamela Anderson Biography. Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
- ↑ Casino City Times. Retrieved on 2009-02-27.
- ↑ Pamela Anderson became U.S. citizen. Moono.com (2004-05-14). Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ↑ Cruelty Doesn't Fly. PETA. Retrieved on November 2, 2011.
