Pamela Anderson
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Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian television actress, model, producer, and author. She was formerly known as Pamela Anderson Lee and Pamela Lee.
Early life
Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada of partially Finnish ancestry (her paternal grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, from Saarijärvi, left Finland in 1908). As the first baby born on Canada's Centennial Day (well past midnight, at 4:08 in the morning), the newborn Anderson won fame as the nation's "Centennial Baby". After her birth, her parents Barry and Carol Anderson moved to the town of Comox with Pamela, who was still a baby.
Career birth
In 1985, Anderson graduated from Highland Secondary School. In her high school yearbook, she wrote that she wanted to be a California beach bum. In 1988, Anderson moved to the city of Vancouver, where she got the taste of a city life and worked as a fitness instructor. During the summer of 1989, Anderson and her friends went to a Canadian football game. At some point during the game, Anderson was shown on the stadium screen. The crowd at the game cheered for the young Anderson, then 18. Anderson was taken to the field to get an ovation from the crowd.
During the game, Anderson wore a Labatt's t-shirt. The beer company offered Anderson a modeling contract and she agreed. Soon, Anderson was on posters in every bar in Canada. In late 1989, Pamela decided to model for Playboy magazine. She appeared on the October 1989 cover (credited as Pamela Anderson Ilicic) and decided to move to Los Angeles to continue her modeling career.
Acting and modeling career
After her move to Los Angeles, Anderson dyed her hair blonde and got breast implants to enhance her look. In 1991, Anderson starred on the United States hit television sitcom Home Improvement (1991-1993). She gained attention from the viewers, which got her the role of C.J. Parker (1992-1997) on Baywatch.
Later, she quit Home Improvement. Anderson was still modeling for Playboy and appearing on the cover of the magazine each year. Her role as C.J. Parker gave Anderson more popularity and attention from international viewers.
In 1996, she appeared in a feature film, Barb Wire, as a character known as Barbara Rose Kopetski, which was mistakenly thought by some to have been her real name. The movie failed to achieve commercial success. During the filming of Barb Wire, Anderson suffered a miscarriage.
In April 1997, Anderson guest-hosted Saturday Night Live. During the beginning of the show, Anderson said You know, if you're nervous on stage, you actually should BE naked! She then went into an impromptu striptease (to the audience's delight and the censors' dismay). Her unmentionables were immediately blurred, and the segment became fodder for late-night comedians for the following weeks. She also appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy, the other cover had Jenny McCarthy on the cover.
In September 1998, Anderson starred in her produced series V.I.P.. The show was very poorly received and a critical bomb. However, with enough people tuning in to just see Pamela Anderson, the show lasted an impressive four seasons. It was cancelled in 2002.
On April 15, 1999, Anderson stunned the world by removing her breast implants. Many were shocked and wondered how Anderson's career could go on without big breasts, as they had been a staple and stepping stone for much of her life. Anderson brushed aside these remarks, stating that she needed to dedicate her time by raising her children and modeling less.
In March 2001, Christine Evelyn Roth pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of trespassing and was deported to her home country, France. The woman had been arrested while sleeping in a guest room of Anderson's home, but she was only charged with trespassing and not the more serious crime of stalking.
In March 2002, Anderson publicly stated that she had contracted the Hepatitis C virus from Lee (supposedly from sharing tattoo needles), and began writing a regular column for Jane magazine. Lee denies having the disease.
Anderson became the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation, and served as the Grand Marshall of the SOS motorcycle ride fundraiser. In October 2003, Anderson jokingly said on Howard Stern's radio show that she does not expect to live more than ten or fifteen years (see [1]), but this was misconstrued and taken seriously by many Internet sites and tabloids.
In 2004, Anderson returned to the world. In May, Anderson appeared naked on the cover of Playboy magazine. It was the first time she appeared naked on any magazine cover. Later, she posed naked for Stuff magazine and GQ magazines. Many noticed that her breast size was larger from her pictorials from 2003-2004.
Anderson became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 12, 2004, while retaining her Canadian citizenship, for the purpose of sponsoring her parents (or at least her mother) for a green card. She has lived in southern California since 1989.
Anderson has often spoken revealingly about her private life. On a visit to the David Letterman show in 2004, she said she had not been dating for some time, and when Letterman asked her how she was coping, she responded, "There's not a square corner left anywhere in my house!" Letterman left that comment unanswered while the audience hooted.
In January 2005, Anderson confessed that she got new breast implants. Anderson said that she didn't feel like herself and decided to get them back. Anderson also claimed that the new breast implants were bigger than her old implants that she took out in 1999.
In April 2005, Anderson starred in a new FOX sitcom Stacked as Skyler Dayton, a party girl (with implants) who goes to work at a bookstore.
She produced a statement in late 2005 saying "I am the greatest slut..." obviously speaking her openness about sex and her opinions in free sex. During summer 2005, Comedy Central created the Roast of Pamela Anderson to honor the sex symbol for the past decade.
In December 2005, NBC cut off a video of Anderson pole dancing topless on Elton John's The Red Piano. NBC said that the footage was inappropriate for primetime. The video was shown on huge screens during the event, while John was playing a song. Anderson was topless, but stars were painted on her breasts.
In March 2006, it was announced that Anderson would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame thanks to her many years as a model and actress. She is only the second model to receive a star.
As of 2006, Anderson is currently starring on the FOX Network comedy Stacked.
Personal life
In addition to her fame from modelling and acting, Anderson has gotten a great deal of press attention for her flamboyant personal life. She married pop-metal star Tommy Lee of the band Mötley Crüe on February 19 1995 after knowing him for only 96 hours, and subsequently bore him two sons, Brandon and Dylan.
After reported incidents of spousal abuse and alcoholism on the part of Lee, Anderson filed for divorce twice and reconciled twice, before the couple finally broke up for good. During the period of her marriage, she was known professionally as Pamela Anderson Lee.
Since her divorce, she has become engaged to Marcus Schenkenberg and Kid Rock. She broke up with Schenkenberg in 2001, and broke up with Kid Rock in 2003.
Anderson has also had relationships with Scott Baio, "Baywatch" co-star David Charvet, and musician Bret Michaels of the band Poison. She has also allegedly has had affairs with celebrities including Sylvester Stallone, Dean Cain, surfer Kelly Slater, Ben Affleck, Fred Durst, reality TV star Eric Nies, and Stephen Dorff. Anderson has started a relationship with former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine.
A pornographic home video of Anderson and Lee was stolen from their home, and made a huge stir on the Internet. Anderson sued the company, the Internet Entertainment Group, that was distributing the video. Ultimately the courts awarded Anderson and Lee $1.5 million plus attorney fees for their share of the profits (see [2]).
A second porn tape made it to the Internet involving Anderson and musician Bret Michaels from Poison. This tape was made before the Tommy Lee tape. The popularity and profitability of the Anderson and Tommy Lee video sparked a miniature genre within the porn film industry, and since then many homemade porn videos of celebrities or celebrity porn have been released to the public through home video and Internet channels (either with or without the participants' co-operation). Frames of the video first appeared in Penthouse magazine in March, 1998.
Novelist
In 2004, Pamela Anderson released the book Star, co-written by author Eric Shaw Quinn, in which she describes a young teenager doing different things in order to reach fame. After this, she began touring across the States, signing autographs to fans at Wal-Mart stores nationwide.
Her second book, a sequel, Star Struck, released in 2005, is a thinly veiled look at her life with Tommy Lee and the travails of celebrity life.
Animal rights
Anderson is a strict vegetarian, an advocate for animal rights, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
In 1999, Anderson received the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors. The award was given to Pamela for her campaign against fur.
In 2001, Anderson released a letter in support of PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken; stating, "What KFC does to 750 million chickens, each year, is not civilized or acceptable." She later made a video about KFC's treatment of chickens. [3]
In 2003, Anderson stripped down for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertising campaign.
In January 2006, Anderson requested that the Governor of Kentucky remove a bust of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, from display but her request was denied, even when she offered her own bust in exchange.
In February 2006, Anderson decided to boycott the Kentucky Derby because of its support for Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In March of 2006, Anderson asked to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the annual seal hunt. Her request was denied.
Filmography
- The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
- Good Cop Bad Cop (1993)
- Snapdragon (1993)
- Raw Justice (1994)
- Naked Souls (1995)
- Barb Wire (1996)
- The Making of Bret Michaels (2002) (documentary)
- Scooby-Doo (2002) (Cameo)
- Earthlings (2003) (documentary)
- Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
- Scary Movie 3 (2003)
- No Rules (2005) (Cameo)
TV work
- Home Improvement (cast member from 1991-1993)
- Baywatch (cast member from 1992-1997)
- Come Die with Me: A Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mystery (1994)
- V.I.P. (1998-2002) (also executive producer)
- Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
- Stripperella (2003-2004) (voice)
- Stacked (2005-present)
Appearances in Playboy special editions
| Pamela Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Peggy McIntaggart |
| Succeeded by | Deborah Driggs |
| Personal details | |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
- Playboy's Playmate Review Vol. 7 June 1991.
- Playboy's Nudes December 1991 - cover.
- Playboy's International Playmates January 1992.
- Playboy's Girls of Summer '92 June 1992.
- Playboy's Girls of Summer '93 June 1993 - pages 6-7, 44.
- Playboy's Wet & Wild Women July 1993.
- Playboy's Video Playmates August 1993.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 33 September 1993.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 34 November 1993.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 35 January 1994.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 36 March 1994.
- Playboy's Playmates in Paradise March 1994 - pages 38-43.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 37 May 1994.
- Playboy's Girls of Summer '94 June 1994.
- Playboy's Book of Lingerie Vol. 38 July 1994.
- Playboy's Nudes November 1994.
- Playboy's Hot Denim Daze May 1995 - page 15.
- Playboy's Nude Celebrities June 1995 - cover.
- Playboy's Sexy 100 February 2003 - cover.
Disappearing labia: In the original Playboy spread, one of Pamela's poses was a little more revealing than Playboy normally provides. In subsequent reprintings in Newstand Specials, as well as in a mass-market poster, that area was airbrushed.
Pro wrestling
- During an appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's Royal Rumble in 1995, Anderson promised that she'd accompany the winner of the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania. Pamela returned for her appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's Wrestlemania XI on April 2, 1995, as the guest valet for WWF World Heavyweight Champion, Diesel. Diesel wrestled Shawn Michaels who had been accompanied to the ring by Jenny McCarthy. After pinning Michaels, Diesel left with both Anderson & McCarthy.
- With her appearance at the Royal Rumble, numerous skits showed Pamela being fawned over by all the wrestlers. One commercial to advertise the Rumble featured Pamela coming home to an answering machine. As voice messages from Shawn Micheals, Diesel, and even Doink the Clown played, Pamela stripped down behind a curtain.
Trivia
- Has appeared 11 times on the cover of Playboy magazine (1989-2004), the most of anyone in the magazine's history.
- Has been called the ultimate hot blonde by E!
- Has a small bald patch on her scalp due to an injury involving the removal of a brunette wig. [4]
- Has said that she has a pole in her house, and does pole dancing like strippers do.
- Has guest starred on the cartoon Futurama twice. Once as herself and another doing a one line cameo.
- Lycos Search Engine named her the most searched person on the internet during the 1990's.
- Suffered a miscarriage during the filming of Barb Wire in 1995.
- Has been called the modern sex symbol.
- Her makeup artist on series 2 of V.I.P. was Emma Nixon who was once a Penthouse model and porn star[5]
- Is actually a natural born brunette
- Claims to enjoy the frequent references to her silicon-enhanced breasts, finding most of them humorous and flattering.
- Featured in the video for Kanye West's "Touch The Sky".
- Is currently on over 22,000,000 websites internationallly.
- Expected to join Canada's Walk of Fame.
- Voices in V.I.P. the video game.
External links
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Adult models
- American film actors
- American television actors
- Animal rights activists
- British Columbia actors
- Canada's Walk of Fame
- Canadian Americans
- Canadian bloggers
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian models
- Canadian television actors
- Finnish Canadians
- Finnish-Americans
- Futurama actors
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from British Columbia
- Playboy Playmates
- Professional wrestling managers and valets
- Vegans
- Scary Movie actors