HOLLYWOOD—Hard to believe that its been 30 something years since we first had a glimpse of Pamela Anderson running along the California beaches in “Baywatch,” the lifeguard drama that remains one of the most-watched series ever. Fans and the critics have become acquainted with the life of Pamela: the Playboy covers, many marriages and the infamous sex tape.
A stolen VHS, featuring the intimate footage of Anderson with her first husband Tommy Lee, was distributed for more than $75 million in sales the first year alone, and of course the fictional account of the ordeal was made into a series by Hulu which earned widespread acclaim and 10 Emmy nominations. On January 31, the Canadian-born blonde will tell that story herself, in both a memoir and a nearly two-hour Netflix documentary.
Pamela, 55, reportedly began working on the projects years ago, when she first learned about the Hulu series Pam & Tommy.
“I blocked that stolen tape out of my life to survive. And now that its coming up again, I feel sick,” she says in the documentary trailer. “I want to take control of the narrative for the first time.” Her new book is titled “Love, Pamela,” written with a help of a ghost-writer, a close-up of one of the most recognized women in the world. Many celebrities use ghost-writers, yet they don’t’ say they do. Anderson, who was born in Ladysmith, a small British Columbia’s Vancouver Island on July 1, 1967, describes her childhood as making dirt-pies and chasing garter snakes next to “fragrant purple lilacs, sour grapes in vines strangling the trunks of tart green apple trees.”
These idyllic scenes are sometimes cut with loud and sometimes violent conflict between her young parents, according to published reports. Anderson previously said how her father, an alcoholic, was physically abusive to her mother. Anderson, too, suffered harrowing abuse, recounting three separate instances of sexual violence, all before the tender age of 18.
In one instance, Anderson says she was molested by a female baby-sitter between the ages of 6 and 10. “My parents thought she was generous and kind, when really, it was just a way to get them off the scent,” she writes. “At the time I couldn’t understand any of it. She threatened me and told me not to tell anyone. Or else.”
Then, when she was just 12, a 25-year-old boy acquaintance raped her. Later, at 14, a high-school boyfriend and a group of his friends sexually assaulted her. “I didn’t tell anybody,” she writes. “I just blocked it out.” Then, at 22 years old and working in a tanning salon she was discovered. Sitting with a friend at BC Lions football game, Anderson was picked up by a roaming stadium camera, her image project on the Jumbotron while wearing a T-shirt with the logo for LaBatt, a Canadian beer company. LaBatt took notice-quickly hiring Anderson as a spokeswoman, plastering her face on posters and in commercials.
Playboy followed, she went to Los Angeles for a photoshoot. Promoting her book this year, Anderson told the media that she got the call from Playboy the same day she found out her fiancé was cheating on her. Imagine that, if a man could cheat on the beautiful, sensual Pamela Anderson, is there any hope for the average woman? The “Baywatch” star would go on to pose for 14 Playboy covers-more than anyone else in the magazine’s history. She has said that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was the only person who treated her with total respect.
Anderson has been married six times to five different men. Most famous is the first, Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. After a four-day courtship in February 1995, the two wed on a beach in Cancun, Mexico-with Anderson in a string bikini. What began as a dream-like fantasy came crashing down, three years and two children later. Anderson, who lives with three dogs in her late grandmothers home in Ladysmith, is a long time vegan. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA spokeswoman for environmental protections. Excited to watch the movie, premiering January 31, 2023 on Netflix.
Rose’s Scoop: Priscilla Presley is contesting the validity of Lisa Marie Presley’s will. Disputing a 2016 amendment to her daughter’s will. In the will it removes Priscilla and her former business manager, Barry Siegel as co-trustees.
