Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson is best known for her years on Baywatch and her Playboy bunny status. The Canadian-born vixen is also an accomplished actress, producer, and author, as well as a passionate animal rights activist.

Her Early Years

Pamela Anderson's life in the spotlight began at a very early age - when she was born. Born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada on July 1st, 1967, she was the first baby born on Canada Day during the nation's Centennial year. Her parents, Barry and Carol Anderson, moved to Comox, British Columbia, while Pamela was still a baby.

Pamela Anderson's Career

In 1988, Anderson graduated from high school and moved to Vancouver, where she worked as a fitness instructor. One day in 1989, Pamela and her friends went to a football game and Pamela was shown on the stadium screen. Fans absolutely adored her. She was brought down onto the field where she received an ovation from the crowd. Luckily for her, she was wearing a Labatt's beer shirt that night. She was subsequently offered a modeling contract with the company and became their "Blue Zone" girl. This also opened the door to other modeling opportunities. Later that year she was asked to model for Playboy, and appeared as the centerfold in their October issue.

Anderson decided to move to Los Angeles, where she dyed her hair blonde and got breast implants. She quickly landed a role on the hit sitcom Home Improvement. She played Lisa, the tool girl for the fake tool show Tooltime. In 1992, she landed the role of C.J. Parker on the hit drama Baywatch, all the while still appearing on Home Improvement. Eventually she quit Home Improvement to focus all of her time and energy on Baywatch. This turned out to be a smart move, because it earned her a lot more attention and fame with the international audience.

In 1996, Anderson made the leap to feature films with the poorly received action/comedy Barb Wire, in which she played the lead role. In 1997, she hosted Saturday Night Live, which included the infamous skit where she stripped naked in front of the audience to calm her nerves. She wasn't actually naked, however, as she wore flesh-colored undergarments. Despite the undergarments, parts of her body were still blurred out on television for the sake of the joke.

In late 1998, Anderson starred in and produced VIP. Although the show was met with negative reviews, the ratings from Anderson's fan base kept it running for four seasons until it was canceled. In 2005, Anderson starred in a new Fox sitcom, Stacked, where she played a busty party girl who goes to work in a bookstore. Stacked was canceled in May 2006.

Like many celebrities, Anderson has also done some work on reality television. In 2008 she entered the Big Brother house in Australia, residing there for three days as a celebrity guest. She did a similar stint on India's Bigg Boss, their version of Big Brother, in 2010. Also in 2010 Pamela Anderson was one of the contestants on the hit show Dancing With the Stars. Paired with professional dancer Damien Whitewood, Anderson finished in sixth place.

Personal Life

In 1995, Pamela made headlines when she married Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. Together they had two sons, Brandon and Dylan. Anderson and Lee had a rocky relationship, splitting and reuniting several times before finally divorcing in 1998. After a broken engagement with model Marcus Schenkenberg in 2001, she became engaged to Kid Rock in 2003. Anderson and Rock split soon after their engagement, but reunited in 2006. They were married in July of that year, but the union only lasted for a few months. In November 2006, only a couple of weeks after suffering a miscarriage, Anderson filed for divorce.

A third marriage came in 2007, this time with entrepreneur Rick Salomon. The pair were wed in Las Vegas, but once again the relationship didn't last. In early 2008 Anderson filed for an annulment, citing fraud as the cause.

Baywatch and Playboy may have made her famous, but neither garnered as much attention as her stolen sex tape. A pornographic home video of Anderson and then-husband Tommy Lee was stolen and distributed over the Internet by the Internet Entertainment Company. Anderson and Lee sued the company and were awarded $1.5 million plus legal fees. A second tape was released later of Anderson and Bret Michaels. This video also made its way to the Internet.

Her Books

In 2004, Pamela Anderson released Star, a book she co-wrote that deals with a young woman's rise to fame, and what she's willing to do to get there. Her second book, Starstruck, was released in 2005. A sequel to Star, Starstruck was based on her life with Tommy Lee.

Animal Rights

Anderson is vegan and a staunch supporter of animal rights and works regularly with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on advertising and awareness campaigns. She has been very vocal in her campaigns against wearing fur, animal testing, and other instances of animal abuse. She has appeared in promotional videos and ads for PETA, including posing nude for their "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" campaign. Anderson was the recipient of the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award in 2003 for her work on animal rights issues.

No Signs of Slowing Down

Pamela Anderson made a name for herself based mostly on her appearance and now, well into her 40s, she is showing no signs of slowing down. She still looks great, works tirelessly for causes that are meaningful to her, and regularly appears on television and in small movie parts. Anderson may have been unlucky in love thus far, but she has proven that she has staying power in her career.