Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-born actress, model, TV personality, producer, author, and sex symbol. She was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, on July 1, 1967 (Canada’s Centennial Day). She was believed to be the first baby born on Canada’s 100th birthday and won fame as Canada’s “Centennial Baby”. Her parents, Barry and Carol, were awarded with cash prizes for the birth of Pamela. The family moved to the town of Comox shortly after Pamela’s birth.
After graduating from Highland Secondary School in 1985, Pamela worked as a fitness instructor and moved to Vancouver. In the summer of 1989, Pam was spotted on the stadium screen while watching a BC Lions game at BC Palace. She was wearing a Labatt’s T-shirt, and the crowd gave her an ovation. She was immediately offered a modeling contract by Labatt’s. She accepted and later that year, Pam decided to model for Playboy magazine. She appeared on the cover of the October 1989 issue of the popular men’s magazine, the first of a dozen cover appearances – more than anyone else. Her appearance on the magazine served as the launching pad of her career and led to roles in television.
She had a small role on the comedy “Married…With Children” and played Lisa on “Home Improvement”. Her role on “Home Improvement” led to her breakthrough role as C.J. Parker on the popular “Baywatch” series. Her image as the red bathing suit-clad lifeguard imprinted itself in many of the series’ viewers and Pamela became a household name from then on. Naturally, her television stints led her to her first feature film, “Barb Wire”, in 1996. Her manager was against the movie but she persisted. Unfortunately, the movie bombed at the box office.
Pamela’s spontaneous marriage with Tommy Lee, drummer of Motley Crue, is perhaps the event in her life that created the most media hype. And the infamous stolen sex tape of the couple engaged in various sexual acts is perhaps the most watched camera appearance of the blonde bombshell. The sex tape created a huge media stir and naturally found its way to the Internet. The company that distributed the video made a lot of money from it but was later sued by the couple. The tape was very popular and sparked a deluge of homemade porn videos of celebrities, with or without their knowledge, on the Internet. Pamela divorced Lee a year after the birth of their first child, Brandon. However, the couple reunited and Pamela gave birth to their second son, Dylan, shortly after. But again, the couple split and their tumultuous marriage officially ended in divorce.
The actress/model became involved with model Marcus Shenkenberg and later with singer Kid Rock after her final split with Tommy. In early 2002, Pamela announced her involvement in the animated series “Stripperella”, a character created by Stan Lee of Marvel Comics. At the same time, she declared that she would appear on-stage as a stripper during her boyfriend’s performances. But everything was put on hold when it was publicly revealed that Pam has the potentially fatal disease Hepatitis C. She later said that she contracted the disease from Tommy Lee after supposedly sharing a tattoo needle.
In 2004, Pamela co-wrote a book with Eric Shaw Quinn entitled Star. The book was about a teenager doing different things in order to reach fame. She went on a nationwide tour of the U.S., signing autographs for fans at Wal-Mart stores. She released a sequel to the book, titled Star Struck, in 2005. The second book is a thinly veiled look at her life with Tommy Lee and about the experiences of a celebrity.
In March 2006, it was announced that Pamela would receive a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame thanks to her popularity as an actress, TV personality and model. She is only the second model to receive this honor. Also in 2006, the voluptuous celebrity made a cameo appearance in the deviant comedy “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” starring Sacha Baron Cohen. She portrays herself and appears near the end of the film in a staged botched abduction. Her next project is another comedy, “Blonde and Blonder”.
It was during the filming of “Blonde and Blonder” that the actress suffered a miscarriage. Seventeen days later, Pamela filed for divorce in the Los Angeles County Superior Court from Kid Rock, citing irreconcilable differences. Some reports stated that it was an outburst from Kid Rock during a screening of the said movie that finally led to Pamela filing for divorce.
But Pamela’s rollercoaster personal life did not end there. In 2007, she told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres that she was engaged to Rick Salomon, Paris Hilton’s ex-boyfriend and “co-star” in the heiress’ infamous celebrity sex tape. The couple applied for a marriage license in Las Vegas and got married in between Pamela’s nightly appearances at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino in Hans Klok’s magic show. But again, Pamela’s latest marriage ended prematurely when she requested the marriage to be annulled in February 2008, citing reasons of fraud.
Despite a lot of controversies and unsavoury criticisms in her career, Pamela has always been an advocate for animal rights and is an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). She became a vegetarian in her teenage years when she walked in on her dad butchering an animal he had just hunted. One of her campaigns for PETA has been against the use of fur. She has been very successful in her campaign against fur and subsequently received the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors for her efforts. The model has also actively campaigned against fast-food chain giant Kentucky Fried Chicken, saying that KFC’s treatment for millions of chickens every year is “not civilized or acceptable”. Her more recent exploits include her campaign against seal hunting in her native Canada and animal testing against fruit-juice maker POM.