Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born
July 1,
1967) is a
Canadian-
American television actress,
glamour model,
producer,
TV personality and
author. She was formerly known as
Pamela Anderson Lee. Anderson is popularly known for modeling and television acting in the
'90s and most notably for her large breast implants. Anderson has been called the
sex symbol of the
'90s.
Anderson was born near
Ladysmith, British Columbia,
Canada, of partially
Finnish ancestry (her paternal grandfather, Hermanni Hyytiäinen, from
Saarijärvi, left Finland in 1908). As the first baby born on Canada's
Centennial Day (well past midnight, at 4:08 in the morning), the newborn Anderson won fame as the nation's "Centennial Baby".
[Maclean's November 27, 1995 Lee, Pamela Anderson (Profile) Accessed July 30, 2006] After her birth, her parents Barry and Carol Anderson moved to the town of
Comox with Pamela, who was still a baby.
In 1985, Anderson graduated from Highland Secondary School. In her high school yearbook, she wrote that she wanted to be a California beach bum. In 1988, Anderson moved to the city of
Vancouver, where she got the taste of a city life and worked as a fitness instructor. During the summer of 1989, Anderson and her friends went to a
Canadian football game. At some point during the game, Anderson was shown on the stadium screen. The crowd at the game cheered for the young Anderson, then 21. Anderson was taken to the field to get an ovation from the crowd.
During the game, Anderson wore a
Labatt's t-shirt. The beer company offered Anderson a modeling contract and she agreed. Soon, Anderson was on posters in every bar in
Canada. In late 1989, Pamela decided to model for
Playboy magazine. She appeared on the October 1989 cover (credited as Pamela Anderson Ilicic) and decided to move to
Los Angeles to continue her modeling career.
Acting and modeling
After her move to
Los Angeles, Anderson dyed her hair blonde and got breast implants to enhance her look. In 1991, Anderson landed a minor role on the
United States hit television
sitcom Home Improvement (1991-1993). Gaining the attention of viewers, she got the role of C.J. Parker (1992-1997) on
Baywatch.
Later, she quit
Home Improvement. Anderson was still modeling for
Playboy and appearing on the cover of the magazine each year. Her role as C.J. Parker gave Anderson more popularity and attention from international viewers.
In 1996, she appeared in a feature film,
Barb Wire, as a character known as Barbara Rose Kopetski, which was mistakenly thought by some to have been her real name. The movie failed to achieve commercial success. During the filming of
Barb Wire, Anderson suffered a miscarriage.
In April 1997, Anderson guest-hosted
Saturday Night Live. During the beginning of the show, Anderson said, "You know, if you're nervous on stage, you actually should BE naked!" She then began a striptease. Her unmentionables, however, were covered by a small flesh-colored bra and a crotch patch that was also flesh colored (though they were still blurred out for the sake of the joke). The segment became fodder for late-night comedians for the following weeks. She also appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of
Playboy; the other cover pictured
Jenny McCarthy.
In September 2000, Anderson starred in her produced series
V.I.P.. The show was very poorly received and a critical bomb. However, with enough people tuning in to just see Pamela Anderson, the show lasted four seasons before being cancelled in 2002.
On
April 15,
1999, Anderson stunned the world by removing her breast implants. Many were shocked and wondered how Anderson's career could go on without big breasts, as they had been a staple and stepping stone for much of her life. Anderson stated that she needed to dedicate her time by raising her children and modeling less.
In March 2001,
Christine Evelyn Roth was arrested while sleeping in a guest room of Anderson's home. She was only charged with the
misdemeanor of
trespassing and not the more serious crime of stalking. Roth pled guilty to the charge of trespassing and was deported to her home country, France.
|
Pamela Anderson on the May 2004 cover of Playboy |
In 2004, Anderson returned to the world. In May, Anderson appeared naked on the cover of
Playboy magazine. It was the first time she appeared naked on any magazine cover. Later, she posed naked for
Stuff magazine and
GQ magazines. Many noticed that her breast size was larger than her pictorials from 2003-2004.
Anderson became a
naturalized citizen of the
United States on
May 12,
2004, while retaining her Canadian citizenship, for the purpose of sponsoring her parents (or at least her mother) for a green card. She has lived in southern
California since 1989.
Anderson has often spoken revealingly about her private life. On a visit to the
David Letterman show in 2004, she said she had not been dating for some time, and when Letterman asked her how she was coping, she responded, "There's not a square corner left anywhere in my house!" Letterman left that comment unanswered while the audience hooted.
In 2004, Pamela Anderson released the book
Star, co-written by author Eric Shaw Quinn, in which she describes a young
teenager doing different things in order to reach fame. After this, she began touring across the States, signing
autographs to fans at
Wal-Mart stores nationwide.
Her second book, a sequel,
Star Struck, released in 2005, is a thinly veiled look at her life with
Tommy Lee and the travails of
celebrity life.
In January 2005, Anderson confessed that she got new breast implants. Anderson said that she didn't feel like herself and decided to get them back. Anderson also claimed that the new breast implants were bigger than her old implants that she took out in 1999.
In April 2005, Anderson starred in a new
FOX sitcom Stacked as Skyler Dayton, a party girl (with implants) who goes to work at a bookstore.
Stacked was cancelled on May 18th, 2006, but the show ran until the end of the 2nd season.
She produced a statement in late 2005 saying "I am the greatest slut..." obviously speaking her openness about sex and her opinions in free sex. During summer 2005, (August 14, 2005)
Comedy Central created the
Roast of Pamela Anderson to honor the sex symbol for the past decade.
In December 2005,
NBC cut off a video of Anderson pole dancing topless on
Elton John's The Red Piano.
NBC said that the footage was inappropriate for primetime. The video was shown on huge screens during the event, while John was playing a song. Anderson was topless, but stars were painted on her breasts.
In March 2006, it was announced that Anderson would receive a star on
Canada's Walk of Fame thanks to her many years as a model and actress. She is only the second model to receive a star. In April, Anderson hosted Canada's
Juno Awards. She became the first non-singer and model to host the awards.
Pamela Anderson will be making a cameo appearance in the film
Borat.
In addition to her fame from modeling and acting, Anderson has gotten a great deal of press attention for her well-publicized personal life.
Her relationships have made headlines in gossip magazines for years. She married
Tommy Lee, drummer of
Mötley Crüe, on
February 19,
1995 after knowing him for only 96 hours and eventually bore him two sons, Brandon and Dylan. During this time, she was known professionally as
'Pamela Anderson Lee. After reported incidents of spousal abuse and alcoholism on the part of Lee, Anderson filed for divorce from him twice and reconciled with him twice, before the couple finally broke up for good. In March 2002, Anderson publicly stated that she had contracted the
Hepatitis C virus from Lee (supposedly from sharing
tattoo needles), and began writing a regular column for
Jane magazine. In October 2003, Anderson jokingly said on
Howard Stern's radio show that she does not expect to live more than ten or fifteen years (see [
1]), but this was misconstrued and taken seriously by many Web sites and tabloids. Lee denies having the disease. Today, Anderson and Lee are just friends.
Anderson has also had relationships with
Scott Baio,
"Baywatch" co-star
David Charvet, and musician
Bret Michaels of the band
Poison. She has also allegedly has had affairs with celebrities including
Sylvester Stallone,
Dean Cain, surfer
Kelly Slater, John Travolta's nephew Rikki Lee Travolta,
Ben Affleck,
Fred Durst, reality TV star
Eric Nies,
Stephen Dorff and former
Formula One driver
Eddie Irvine. She has also dated
Welsh T4 presenter,
Steve Jones and remains close friends with him.
|
Pam & Tommy Lee: Hardcore & Uncensored |
A
pornographic home video of Anderson and Tommy Lee was stolen from their home, and made a huge stir on the
Internet. Anderson sued the company, the
Internet Entertainment Group, that was distributing the video. Ultimately the courts awarded Anderson and Lee
$1.5 million plus attorney fees for their share of the profits.[
2]
A second tape, which was made before the Tommy Lee tape involving Anderson and musician
Bret Michaels from
Poison was later distributed on the Internet. Frames of the video first appeared in
Penthouse magazine in March, 1998. The popularity and profitability of the Anderson and Tommy Lee video sparked a miniature genre within the porn film industry and since then many homemade porn videos of celebrities have been released to the public through home video and Web channels (either with or without the participants' co-operation).
Since her divorce, she has become engaged to both
Marcus Schenkenberg and
Kid Rock. She broke up with Schenkenberg in 2001, and broke up with Kid Rock in 2003. It was announced on July 18, 2006 that she would marry Kid Rock on July 29, 2006 on a yacht near St. Tropez, France. "Feels like I've been stuck in a time warp," said Anderson in her
blog entry. "Not able to let go of MY family picture ... it's been sad and lonely and frustrating ... I've raised my kids alone in hope of a miracle. Well my miracle came and went. And came back and back because he knew that I'd wake up one day and realize that I was waiting for nothing." "I'm moving on," she declared. "I feel like I'm finally free ... I'm in love." There was extensive unconfirmed media speculation that the marriage is pregnancy-related, but the theory was based only on Anderson's representatives refusal to comment on the question. [
3]
She put her
Malibu, California, home up for sale in order to move to a more private location. In an interview with Gavriel Maynard, Anderson stated "I dont know why people consider me stupid, I'm actually really smart."
Anderson has a small bald patch on her scalp due to an injury involving the removal of a brunette wig. [
4]
Anderson is a
vegetarian, an advocate for animal rights, and an active member of the animal protection organization
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), taking part in many several campaigns for animal rights.
One of Anderson's campaigns as a member of PETA has been against the use of
fur. In 1999, Anderson received the first
Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors, in recognition of her campaign against fur. In 2003, Anderson stripped down for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertising campaign. On
June 28,
2006, Anderson posed naked with other protesters on a window display of the
Stella McCartney boutique in
London,
England. It was a
PETA gala event before the
PETA Humanitarian Awards. Anderson went inside the boutique and said she would take her clothes off if the event raised enough money for
PETA, which it did. She took off her clothes and went to stand on a pedestal at the window display. Of course, Anderson covered her breasts. They wore a banner that read:We'd rather bare skin than wear skin." The event sparked a media frenzy in London. [
5]
She has also actively campaigned against
Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 2001, Anderson released a letter in support of PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken; stating, "What KFC does to 750 million chickens, each year, is not civilized or acceptable." She later made a video about KFC's treatment of chickens. [
6] In January 2006, Anderson requested that the Governor of Kentucky remove a bust of
Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, from display but her request was denied, even when she offered her own bust in exchange. In February 2006, Anderson decided to
boycott the
Kentucky Derby because of its support for Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In addition, she has campaigned against seal hunting in her native Canada. In March of 2006, Anderson asked to speak to
Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the
annual seal hunt. Her request was denied. In May of 2006, Pamela Anderson
petitioned random individuals on the street for their opinion on the Canadian Seal Hunt.
Anderson became the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation, and served as the Grand Marshall of the SOS motorcycle ride fundraiser.
Film
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
Good Cop Bad Cop (1993)
Snapdragon (1993)
Raw Justice (1994)
Naked Souls (1995)
Barb Wire (1996)
The Making of Bret Michaels (2002) (documentary)
Scooby-Doo (2002) (Cameo)
Earthlings (2003) (documentary)
Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
No Rules (2005) (Cameo)
Television
Home Improvement (cast member from 1991-1993)
Baywatch (cast member from 1992-1997)
Come Die with Me: A Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mystery (1994)
V.I.P. (1998-2002) (also executive producer)
Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
Stripperella (2003-2004) (voice)
Stacked (2005-2006)
*Has guest starred on the cartoon
Futurama twice. Once as herself and another doing a one line cameo.
*Featured in the video for
Kanye West's "
Touch The Sky".
Appearances in Playboy special editions
Anderson has appeared 11 times on the cover of
Playboy magazine (1989-2004), more than anyone else in the magazine's history.
Playboy's Playmate Review Vol. 7 June 1991.
Playboy's Nudes December 1991 - cover.
Playboy's International Playmates January 1992.
Playboy's Girls of Summer '92 June 1992.
Playboy's Girls of Summer '93 June 1993 - pages 6-7, 44.
Playboy's Wet & Wild Women July 1993.
Playboy's Video Playmates August 1993.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 33 September 1993.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 34 November 1993.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 35 January 1994.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 36 March 1994.
Playboy's Playmates in Paradise March 1994 - pages 38-43.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 37 May 1994.
Playboy's Girls of Summer '94 June 1994.
Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 38 July 1994.
Playboy's Nudes November 1994.
Playboy's Hot Denim Daze May 1995 - page 15.
Playboy's Nude Celebrities June 1995 - cover.
Playboy's Sexy 100 February 2003 - cover.
In the original
Playboy spread, one of Pamela's poses was a little more revealing than
Playboy normally provides. In subsequent reprintings in Newstand Specials, as well as in a mass-market poster, that area was airbrushed.
Pro wrestling
|
Pamela Anderson and Trish Stratus kissing |
*During an appearance at the
World Wrestling Federation's
Royal Rumble in
1995, Anderson promised that she'd accompany the winner of the Royal Rumble to
WrestleMania. Pamela returned for her appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's
Wrestlemania XI on
April 2,
1995, as the guest valet for
WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel. Diesel wrestled
Shawn Michaels, who had been accompanied to the ring by
Jenny McCarthy. After pinning Michaels, Diesel left with both Anderson
and McCarthy.
*In anticipation of her appearance at the Royal Rumble, several skits featured wrestlers fawning over Pamela were produced. One commercial featured Pamela coming home and checking her answering machine. As Pamela strips down behind a curtain, messages from wrestlers such as
Shawn Michaels,
Diesel, and
Doink the Clown can be heard.
*At the
2006 Canada's Walk Of Fame, Anderson shared a kiss with professional wrestler
Trish Stratus.
*
Official site*
*
*
Pamela Anderson Video
