Pamela Denise Anderson, born on July 1, 1967, is a well-known Canadian-American actress, model, and media personality. She first gained widespread attention when she was named Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for February 1990. Anderson’s connection with the magazine deepened, and she became a frequent cover star, setting the record for the most Playboy covers by any individual.
She began her acting career with a role on the popular ABC sitcom Home Improvement (1991–1997), but it was her iconic portrayal of C.J. Parker on the action-packed drama Baywatch (1992–1997) that truly solidified her status as a global sex symbol.
In 1995, a private home video involving Anderson and her then-husband Tommy Lee was stolen and leaked, sparking a major scandal and legal battles. Despite the controversy, Anderson continued her career, starring in V.I.P. (1998–2002) as Vallery Irons and Stacked (2005–2006) as Skyler Dayton. She also featured in several films, including Barb Wire (1996), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Borat (2006), Baywatch (2017), and City Hunter (2018).
Anderson appeared in the reality series Pam: Girl on the Loose (2008) and participated in the Dancing with the Stars franchise across multiple seasons (2010–2012, 2018).
In the 2020s, Anderson experienced a resurgence in her career, notably with her 2022 Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago. She also gained attention with the release of her 2023 Netflix documentary, Pamela, a Love Story, which coincided with the publication of her autobiography, Love, Pamela. Additionally, her role in the indie-drama The Last Showgirl (2024) earned her nominations for the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actress.
Beyond her career, Anderson has been a passionate advocate for animal rights, frequently supporting PETA’s initiatives. She also embraces a plant-based lifestyle, hosting the cooking show Pamela’s Cooking with Love and publishing a plant-based cookbook, I Love You: Recipes from the Heart, in 2024.
Pamela Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada, to Barry Anderson, a furnace repairman, and Carol, a waitress. She comes from a diverse heritage; her great-grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, was originally from Saarijärvi, Finland, and immigrated to Canada in 1908, changing his name to Anderson upon arrival. Additionally, Anderson has Volga German ancestry on her mother’s side—her grandmother was born in a Mennonite village in Russia and moved to Canada in 1901.
Her birth on July 1, 1967, coincided with the 100th anniversary of Canada’s founding through the Constitution Act of 1867, which led to her being dubbed a “Centennial Baby” by the press. Anderson has a younger brother named Gerry, born in 1971, who has worked as an actor and producer, collaborating with her on several of her films and TV shows.
Anderson suffered sexual abuse as a child, a fact she revealed publicly in 2014. She said she was molested by a female babysitter from ages 6 to 10, raped by a 25-year-old man when she was age 12, and gang-raped by her boyfriend and six of his friends when she was 14.
Pamela Anderson attended Highland Secondary School in Comox, British Columbia, where she was a member of the volleyball team. She graduated in 1985 and later moved to Vancouver in 1988. There, she worked as a fitness instructor before eventually pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.
Personal Life
Homes and Family
Pamela Anderson has two children from her first marriage to Tommy Lee: son Brandon Thomas (born in 1996) and son Dylan Jagger (born in 1997). She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2004 while maintaining her Canadian citizenship. After relocating to California in 1989, Anderson felt it was essential to become an American citizen to vote and one day petition to bring her aging parents to the U.S. for care.
In 2001, Anderson purchased a beachfront home in Malibu, California, for $1.8 million, later attempting to sell it in 2013 for $7.75 million, though she ultimately took it off the market. She had also lived in a mansion in Cassis, France, in the commune of Marseille. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she moved back to her childhood home in Canada, making it her permanent residence, and sold her Malibu property. As of 2024, Anderson lives with her dogs on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in her hometown of Ladysmith, where she owns a vegetable farm called Arcady.
Marriages
Anderson has been married multiple times. Her first marriage was to Tommy Lee, the drummer of Mötley Crüe, on February 19, 1995, after knowing him for only four days. Their wedding took place on a beach, with Anderson in a white bikini and Lee in boardshorts. Their marriage ended in 1998 after Lee was sentenced to six months in jail for spousal abuse, though they later reached a joint custody agreement for their two sons in 2002. Anderson also publicly shared that she contracted hepatitis C from sharing tattoo needles with Lee, and by 2015, she had been cured of the disease.
Following her marriage to Lee, Anderson married musician Kid Rock, but their union ended after a miscarriage during the filming of Blonde and Blonder in Vancouver. She filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In 2007, Anderson married Rick Salomon in a small ceremony in Las Vegas, but the marriage was annulled a few months later due to fraud. They later rekindled their relationship, and in 2014, Anderson announced they had remarried. However, the couple divorced again in 2015.
Anderson was in a relationship with footballer Adil Rami from 2017 to 2019. On December 24, 2020, she married her bodyguard, Dan Hayhurst, but announced their separation on January 21, 2022, and filed for divorce shortly after.
Stolen Tape
In 1995, a private home video of Anderson and Tommy Lee, filmed on a houseboat at Lake Mead, was stolen and distributed as a sex tape, sparking a highly publicized legal battle and a media scandal. Anderson sued the video distribution company, Internet Entertainment Group, which posted the video on its website in 1997. However, she dropped the lawsuit due to the stress it was causing during her pregnancy. Despite this, the company continued distributing the tape, which led to massive increases in website traffic.
The story of the stolen tape was later dramatized in the 2022 Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy. In her 2023 Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story, Anderson stated that she was never consulted or compensated for the series, which portrayed her trauma. Critics argued that the series exploited Anderson’s personal pain without her consent, a violation similar to the original theft and distribution of the tape. Anderson herself confirmed this in her documentary, revealing that the series was created based on a 2014 Rolling Stone article without her permission.