Pamela Anderson has reflected on her life and career, saying: “I wouldn’t change one thing about my life or I wouldn’t be here.”
The former Baywatch star, 57, is attracting critical acclaim and awards buzz for her role in Gia Coppola’s upcoming The Last Showgirl.
The film stars Anderson as Shelly, a veteran Las Vegas dancer on the verge of retirement.
Anderson told Deadline that she drew on her own life and experiences for the role, saying: “I’ve danced between shame and beating myself up about so many things or wondering what life would’ve been if I didn’t experience the things I did, even as a child, there’s so much.”
She continued: “It’s so wonderful that this film is not exploitive. It’s not about violence or overt sexuality. It’s such a touching story and on so many different generations.
“And I find that because again, I’ve been sexualized and objectified in my life and career, but I don’t want to be defined by what has been done to me. I want to be defined by what I do. And I feel like I do mentor a lot of women in this industry who have gone down a path that is a scary kind of path.
“And I’ve helped a lot of women, and I have nieces and my sons have girlfriends, and I wonder in this culture, what’s enough? What does it take to entertain somebody? And I’ve always felt like I’ve had this veil or wall, and I feel like to protect me.”
She added: “I feel like Ms. Magoo. Actually, I’ve been really lucky in my Playboy experience, also in being a lifeguard on the beach, whatever people thought of that, even it was very innocent. Baywatch was wholesome, I think.
“And then the things that happened to me were really hard on me when my personal life was exploited, and it really was hard on me for a couple of decades. It took me a long time to, or I don’t think you ever really get over it.”
The previous year the streamer had released its dark comedy mini-series about the leaking of Anderson and then-husband Tommy Lee’s sex tape.
While promoting her Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story, Anderson explained why she refused to watch the show.
“It was shocking,” she said. “Tommy probably thought it was funny. I remember Tommy writing me a note saying, ‘Don’t let this hurt you like it did the first time,’ because he had heard through the kids that I was kind of struggling with the idea of bringing this all up again.
“I don’t think he was portrayed kindly. I just know that I refuse to watch it.”
Anderson described the series as a “salt on the wound” and called the people behind it “a**holes”.
The Last Showgirl will open in select US cinemas on December 13, 2024. It is expected to receive a wider release in the US on January 10, 2025 and in the UK on February 28, 2025.
