The metamorphosis of a vixen! Pamela Anderson has evolved from a girl with big dreams of becoming a model into one of the biggest sex symbols in Hollywood.
Born in British Columbia, Canada, Anderson was discovered at the age of 22 in 1989 after she was featured on a Jumbotron at a British Columbia Lions football game wearing a Labatt’s Beer T-shirt. She caught the attention of the brewing company and was hired as their spokesmodel. Anderson was soon invited to audition for Playboy and appeared as the cover girl for the magazine’s October 1989 issue. She went on to pose for the magazine for 22 years — more than any other model in the publication’s history.
Anderson told Us Weekly in 2018 that modeling for Playboy was therapeutic for her after she suffered sexual abuse as a child.
“I was painfully shy as a child. As a young girl, Playboy empowered me. It really saved my life,” she said at the time. “I felt very trapped inside and needed to free myself. It was a breakthrough for me, and there I met artists and activists and gentlemen. It has been a fun and wild life.”
Anderson landed her first major acting gig in 1991 on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement in a reoccurring role as Tim Taylor’s (played by Tim Allen) first assistant, Lisa. She left the show after two seasons when she won the role of C.J. Parker on Baywatch one year later. Anderson starred on the show for five seasons from 1992 until 1997 as one of the longest-running cast members.
The actress didn’t have to worry about whether she would get the part because the producers were clamoring to get her on the show.
“I was asked to audition for Baywatch numerous times since I appeared in Playboy,” she recalled in an interview with the Pamela Anderson Foundation in 2018. “But I didn’t like to drive in L.A. I’d never been on an audition. So I never went. Until one day I tagged along with a friend. We were both hired on the spot. They said I was famous before I walked in the door. Famous for not showing up.”
Later, Anderson’s tumultuous personal life took the spotlight as she became known for her high-profile relationships including with Kid Rock, Rick Salomon and Tommy Lee, with whom she shares sons Brandon and Dylan.
Scroll down to see photos of Anderson through the years.
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Big Dreams
Anderson enjoyed playing saxophone and participating on her high school volleyball team before she graduated in 1985 and moved to Vancouver. Three years later, the aspiring model attended a British Columbia Lions football game wearing a Labatt’s Beer T-shirt. The brewing company spotted her on the Jumbotron and offered her a job as a spokesperson.
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Playboy Bombshell
The magazine invited Anderson to audition in 1989. “I thought they were going to take me to the mansion and throw me in a pit with mud and oil, and I was going to have to fight someone,” she told Elle in 2014.
Anderson went on to appear as the covergirl in October 1989 and was chosen as Playmate of the Month in the February 1990 issue. She holds the record for the most Playboy covers of any model.
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Tool Time
The star’s first major role was as Tim’s first assistant, Lisa, on Tool Time — the fictional series from the sitcom Home Improvement. She appeared in two seasons from 1991 to 1993 and made a guest appearance on season 6 in 1997.
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Baywatch Babe
Anderson starred on the TV series for five years as C.J. Parker — a role she brought to life with her signature platinum blonde hair and curvy figure. She later made a cameo in the 2017 movie remake.
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Rockstar Love
The Blonde and Blonder star met Mötley Crüe drummer, Tommy Lee, in February 1995. The pair tied the knot 96 hours later on the beach in Mexico. Later that year, the couple’s sex tape from their honeymoon was stolen from their home and released. She sued the video distribution company and the duo agreed to a confidential settlement. The company then made the video available to subscribers on its websites again.
Anderson gave birth to their son Brandon in June 1996 and son Dylan in December 1997. Lee served six months in Los Angeles County Jail in 1998 after assaulting Anderson. The couple divorced later that year.
She revealed in 2002 that she had been diagnosed with hepatitis C, which she claimed she contracted when she shared a tattoo needle with Lee. The twosome reconciled in 2008 before they called it quits for good in 2010.
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Pretty in Pink
Anderson arrived at the 1999 VMAs — which she attended with her ex-husband Lee — in a white corset top and pink fuzzy hat.
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Second Time Around
The Superhero Movie star began dating Kid Rock in 2001. The twosome got engaged one year later before they called it quits in 2003. Anderson and the “All Summer Long” singer rekindled their romance and they got married in July 2006 on a yacht in France. That November, she announced her miscarriage before she filed for divorce 17 days later.
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Animal Lover
Anderson — who is a vegan — bared it all in 2003 for PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” advertising campaign in a lettuce bikini. She launched the Pamela Anderson Foundation in 2014 to advocate for animal and environmental rights.
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Round Three
Anderson married poker player Rick Salomon in October 2007 in Las Vegas. The couple split in December of that year and in February 2008 she requested an annulment. However, she announced in January 2014 that they had remarried. They split again that July and their divorce was finalized in April 2015.
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Reality TV Star
The Scary Movie 3 actress shocked houseguests on Big Brother Australia when she entered the house for a three-day stint in 2008. She also competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2010, Celebrity Big Brother in the U.K. in 2011 and Dancing on Ice in 2013.
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Big Chop
Anderson ditched her long locks for a pixie cut in 2013. “I just thought my hair had a life, and I wanted to kind of put that behind me and start fresh,” she said on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in November 2014. “I thought it would be good for the [New York City] marathon, and it was.”
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All Grown Up
The Days of Our Lives alum detailed in a 2014 interview with Elle how she explained her sex-driven career to her two sons as they got older.
“I just had to say, ‘I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you, I’m sorry if I’ve made your lives difficult in any way, shape, or form,’ ” she said. “It was never my intention. I wasn’t thinking that one day my kids were going to suffer for it. I said, ‘Your parents are your parents, and we’re not changing. Dad is Dad; I’m me, you know?'”
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End of an Era
Anderson was the last model to pose nude on the cover of Playboy for the magazine’s January/February 2016 issue, which hit newsstands in December 2015. She was featured in a 12-page photo spread and interviewed by actor James Franco.
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Unwritten
The V.I.P. alum made a guest appearance on the MTV reality series The Hills: New Beginnings alongside her son Brandon in 2019.
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Hopeless Romantic
Anderson met Jon Peters at the Playboy Mansion in the mid-1980s. The pair began dating and moved in together in Los Angeles but eventually split because of their 22-year age difference. They reunited in 2019 and wed in a secret ceremony in Malibu in January 2020. Anderson announced their separation 12 days later.
A source told Us at the time that the couple were never legally married. Anderson clarified their relationship in an interview with the New York Times in May 2020.
“I wasn’t married,” she said at the time. “No. A moment that came and went, but there was no wedding, there was no marriage, there was no anything. It’s like it never even happened. That sounds bizarre.”
She told the New York Times in May 2020 that she “wasn’t married” to Peters. “No. I’m a romantic. I think I’m an easy target. And I think people just live in fear. I don’t know what all that was about, but I think fear really played a lot into it.”
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Broadway Baby
In March 2022, Anderson announced that she would be making her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago for a limited run, beginning on April 12, 2022. “Playing Roxie Hart is a dream fulfilled,” she said at the time, while sharing her excitement to take on the role. “Performing [Bob Fosse’s choreography], you don’t have time to get in your head. You can’t dance, sing and think at the same time. There is a freedom, a unique joy in knowing it’s all about the work. Playing Roxie Hart is a sweet escape for me.”
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‘The Last Showgirl’
In 2024, Anderson starred as Shelly Gardner in The Last Showgirl, a film about a Las Vegas showgirl who sets out to find her next act after her decades-long revue ends.
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New Romance
While working on her 2025 film The Naked Gun, Anderson sparked a romance with costar Liam Neeson. A source confirmed to Us that the pair “are dating” after they met on the set of the movie and got fans talking with PDA moments at red carpet events.
“[Anderson and Neeson] always had chemistry while they were filming, and their friendship naturally developed into more,” the insider said, later adding, “They are both shy and have tried to stay private, but the spark between them is obvious.”
Anderson and Neeson addressed their relationship during a joint interview on Today.
“I had never met Pamela before. We met on set. And we discovered we had a lovely, budding chemistry — as two actors,” Neeson explained, with Anderson agreeing, “Yeah.”
Neeson continued, “It’s like, ‘Oh, this is nice. Let’s not mold this. Let’s just let it breathe.’ And that’s what we did.”
