From '90s TV icon to the Hollywood awards circuit: Pamela Anderson's life in photos
Pamela Anderson learned early on in her career not to care what people thought of her.
She spent decades enduring others speaking on her behalf, sharing a narrative of her life that wasn't true.
Yet, despite this, the Canadian-American actress, model and author has never needed rescuing. She's not a damsel in distress, but more a survivor.
Now, fans are delighted to see Anderson revelling in her power and her "second career".
"Anyone else feel elated that Pamela Anderson, who for decades was never taken seriously for her acting, bravery, intelligence ... is getting this second career and proving everyone wrong?" one wrote on social media, echoing a sentiment shared by many.
Here's a look back at the celebrity icon who's now thriving at the helm of her own story.
Pamela Denise Anderson was born on July 1, 1967 in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada.
She's the oldest of two children to mother, Carol, a waitress and father Barry a repairman.
"I didn't think being an actress was a possibility," she told Deadline in November 2024.
"I was always an imaginative kid. But I thought actors had actor children. I didn't think Hollywood was that real. I wasn't expecting to go there."
Anderson got her start in showbiz in her twenties after being talent spotted on the Jumbotron at a football game.
It was 1989 and she was wearing a Labatt's Beer T-shirt. The company hired her as a promotional model.
It led her to featured on the cover of Playboy magazine. The magazine staff tracked her down in the phone book.
They asked her to come in for a shoot and after initially thinking she shouldn't do it, Anderson's mother stepped in.
"I was paralysingly shy as a kid. And my mum told me to do it... she said, 'I want you to experience life,'" Anderson said.
She was selected as February 1990 Playmate of the Month.
Her career took off from there. She was cast in the popular US sitcom Home Improvement opposite Tim Allen.
She had a recurring role as Lisa, the "Tool Time girl" in the show's first two seasons.
During her time on Baywatch, Anderson met Tommy Lee.
He was the drummer of iconic '90s rock band Mötley Crüe.
They met on New Year's Eve in 1994 and Lee was instantly smitten. He reportedly phoned her 40 to 50 calls to ask her out.
With little luck, he followed her to a photoshoot in Mexico. Four days later, the pair eloped on a beach in Cancun.
During their marriage, Anderson and Lee welcomed two children together, Brandon and Dylan.
Anderson with Brandon as a baby.
Their relationship was tested in late 1995 when a private sex tape from their honeymoon was stolen from their house.
It was widely copied and sold.
Despite hiring lawyers to intervene and have the original tape returned and copies destroyed, the couple could do little to stop the constant sales.
Rolling Stone reported the tape made an estimated $US77 million (approx. $105 million) in less than 12 months on legitimate sales alone.
Anderson and Lee had no choice but to settle and sign over the copyright to Club Love, the porn site streaming it online.
The couple's relationship ended in divorce in 1998.
The story of how the tape was leaked was detailed in the 2022 miniseries Pam & Tommy.
Despite the show's producers trying to contact Anderson to get input and permission, she reportedly never returned their calls.
"I was really hopeful that she would be involved. I wish it had been different," Lily James, the British actress who portrayed Anderson in the series (pictured), said in a 2022 interview.
"My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically."
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