Pamela Anderson Biography

Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990. For a time, she was known as Pamela Anderson Lee (or Pamela Lee) after marrying Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. She maintains dual Canadian and American citizenship. Anderson is a notable member of the Animal Rights movement and has conducted campaigns condemning the commercial fur industry and promoting veganism through the animal welfarist organisation PETA.

Early life

Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, the daughter of Barry, a furnace repairman, and Carol (née Grosco) Anderson, a waitress. Her great-grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, was Finnish, a native of Saarijärvi, and left the Grand Duchy of Finland (which was a part of the Russian Empire at the time) in 1908. He changed his name to Anderson when he arrived as an immigrant, as many immigrants do to assimilate. Anderson also has Russian ancestry on her mother's side.

Career

After graduating from École Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver and worked as a fitness instructor.

Discovery

During the summer of 1989, Anderson went with friends to a BC Lions Canadian Football League game at BC Place in Vancouver, during which live video of her wearing a tightly-fitted Labatt's Beer t-shirt was shown on the stadium's huge video screen, causing an immense roar of approval from the crowd for the beautiful 21-year-old. As part of a PR event for the brewery, she was then escorted down to field level to wide applause. From that event, her photographer boyfriend Dan Ilicic produced a poster of his own called the Blue Zone Girl.

Playboy Magazine career

In the aftermath of her sudden Vancouver notoriety, she appeared as the cover girl on Playboy magazine's October 1989 issue. At that point she decided to live in Los Angeles to further pursue her modeling career ambitions. Playboy subsequently chose her as Playmate of the Month in their February 1990 issue, in which she appeared in the centrefold photo. Anderson then elected to have breast implant surgery. Anderson has since appeared in Playboy several times in the 1990s and 2000s.

Anderson's Playboy career spans four decades (1989"2011), and she has appeared on more Playboy covers than anyone else. She has also made appearances in the publication's newsstand specials. Anderson wrote the foreword in the Playboy coffee table book Playboy's Greatest Covers.

Acting and modeling

After her move to Los Angeles, she won a minor role as the original "Tool Time girl" on the hit television sitcom, Home Improvement. She left the show after two seasons and won the role of C. J. Parker on Baywatch, a role she played between 1992 and 1998. Anderson was still modeling for Outdoor Life and appearing on the cover of the magazine each year. In 1993, Anderson appeared in a music video "Can't Have Your Cake" by Vince Neil to promote his first solo album Exposed.

In 1994, she was cast in her first starring film role, in Raw Justice, also known as Good Cop, Bad Cop, costarring with Stacy Keach, David Keith and Robert Hays. Under the alternate title, the film won the Bronze Award at the Worldfest-Charleston in the category for dramatic theatrical films.

In 1996, she appeared in Barb Wire playing Barbara Rose Kopetski, which was later claimed by some sources to be Anderson's real name, although it is not. The movie, a thinly veiled futuristic remake of Casablanca, was not a commercial success. In April 1997, she guest-hosted Saturday Night Live. She appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy.

In September 1998, Anderson starred as Vallery Irons in the Sony Pictures Entertainment hit syndicated show V.I.P. created by J. F. Lawton. Blending action and humor in a fast-paced adventure series, with Anderson often poking fun at her tabloid image, the show explored the exciting and sometimes treacherous lives of the rich and famous. The series lasted through a successful four year run. In 1999, she appeared as a giantess in the music video for "Miserable" by California alternative rock band Lit. Her role as C.J. Parker gave her more popularity and gained her attention from international viewers. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. She appeared on The Nanny as Fran's rival, Heather Biblow.

In early 2004, Anderson returned to the spotlight. In May, she appeared naked on the cover of Playboy magazine. It was the first time she had appeared naked on any magazine cover. Later, she posed naked for Stuff and GQ magazines.

Anderson became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 12, 2004, while retaining her Canadian citizenship. She has lived in Southern California since 1989.

In 2004, she released the book Star, co-written by Eric Shaw Quinn, about a teenager trying to become famous. After this, she began touring the United States, signing autographs for fans at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Her second book, the sequel Star Struck, released in 2005, is a thinly veiled look at her life with Tommy Lee and the trials of celebrity life. In April 2005, Anderson starred in a new Fox sitcom Stacked as Skyler Dayton, a party girl who goes to work at a bookstore. It was canceled on May 18, 2006, after two seasons, although some episodes were never aired. On August 14, 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 on Elton John's "The Red Piano." NBC said that the footage was inappropriate for prime time. The video was shown on huge screens during the event, while John played "The Bitch is Back". 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. In April 2006, Anderson hosted Canada's Juno Awards, becoming the first non-singer and model to do so.

She was referenced in the 2006 mockumentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, as the title character becomes obsessed with her, and plans to abduct and marry her. She appears as herself at a book signing at the end of the film, confronted by Borat in a staged botched abduction.

She performed on February 13"14, 2008 in a Valentine's Day striptease act at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris. Anderson then starred in Pam: Girl on the Loose, which debuted on August 3, 2008 on E! in the United States.

In December 2009, Anderson guest-starred as Genie of the Lamp in the pantomime Aladdin at the New Wimbledon Theatre in Wimbledon, south-west London, England. Anderson took over the role from comedienne Ruby Wax, with former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson and comedian Paul O'Grady also booked for the role. In 2010, she appeared in the short film The Commuter directed by the McHenry Brothers and shot entirely on the Nokia N8 smartphone as promotion for the phone in the UK.

Pro wrestling

• During an appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's Royal Rumble in 1995, Anderson promised that she would accompany the winner of the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania. Anderson returned for her appearance at the World Wrestling Federation's WrestleMania XI on April 2, but as the guest valet for WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel and not the Royal Rumble winner, his opponent Shawn Michaels; Michaels ended up being accompanied to the ring by Jenny McCarthy. After pinning Michaels, Diesel left with both Anderson and McCarthy.
• In anticipation of her appearance at the Royal Rumble, several skits were produced featuring wrestlers fawning over Anderson. One commercial featured Anderson coming home and checking her answering machine. As Anderson strips down behind a curtain, messages from wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels, Diesel, and Doink the Clown can be heard.
• At the 2006 Canada's Walk of Fame induction ceremony, Anderson shared a kiss with WWE diva and fellow Canadian Trish Stratus.
• She appeared on former Pro Wrestling commentator Mark Madden's Pittsburgh-based sports talk radio show in October, 2006.

Big Brother

On July 9, 2008, Anderson entered the Australian Big Brother house for a three-day visit. This was Anderson's first foray into reality television. In November 2010, Anderson appeared on season 4 of Bigg Boss, the Indian version of the Big Brother television franchise. She stayed as a guest in the house for three days for a reported sum of Rs. 2.5 crores (approx $ 550,000 USD). Furthering her involvement in the franchise, In September 2011, Anderson took part in the 12th series of the UK version of Big Brother. On 9 September 2012 it was officially announced that she will enter the House in Bulgaria on 16 September, taking part in the fourth season of VIP Brother, which is the celebrity spin-off of Big Brother in Bulgaria.

Dancing with the Stars

Anderson was a contestant on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Damian Whitewood. The season premiered on Monday, March 22, 2010, and after seven weeks, Anderson was eliminated. She also took part in the 15th season all-star edition in 2012 with Tristan MacManus. Anderson and MacManus were eliminated in the first week of competition.

In 2011, she appeared on the Argentinian version of Dancing with the Stars, entitled Bailando por un sueño (Bailando 2011). She withdrew from the competition after the fourth round.

Dancing On Ice

In 2013 Anderson appeared on series 8 of the British reality TV show Dancing On Ice, partnered with former winner Matt Evers. They became the first couple that series to be voted off by the judges due to a few stumbles.

Personal life

Relationships

In addition to her fame from modelling and acting, Anderson has received a great deal of press attention for her well-publicized personal life. Her relationships have made headlines in gossip magazines for years. Anderson married Tommy Lee, drummer of Mötley Crüe, on February 19, 1995, after knowing him for only 96 hours and the couple eventually had two sons, Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee, named for Anderson's great grandfather, Dale Jagger Grosco who fought in World War II. During this time, she was known professionally as Pamela Anderson Lee. Anderson filed for divorce from Lee twice and reconciled with him twice, before the couple finally divorced in 1998.

In March 2002, Anderson publicly stated that she had contracted Hepatitis C from Lee (supposedly from sharing tattoo needles), and began writing a regular column for Jane magazine. In October 2003, Anderson jokingly said on Howard Stern's radio show that she does not expect to live more than 10 or 15 years, but this was misconstrued and taken seriously by many websites and tabloids.

After the 1998 divorce, Anderson became engaged to the model Marcus Schenkenberg; they broke up in 2001. She then became engaged to the singer Kid Rock (Robert J. Ritchie); she broke up with him in 2003. On July 18, 2006, it was announced that she would marry Kid Rock on July 29, 2006, on a yacht near St Tropez, France. "Feels like I've been stuck in a time warp," said Anderson in her blog entry. "Not able to let go of MY family picture ... it's been sad and lonely and frustrating ... I've raised my kids alone in hope of a miracle. Well my miracle came and went. And came back and back because he knew that I'd wake up one day and realize that I was waiting for nothing." "I'm moving on," she declared. "I feel like I'm finally free ... I'm in love." There was extensive unconfirmed media speculation that the marriage was pregnancy-related, but the theory was based only on Anderson's representative's refusal to comment on the question.

On November 10, 2006, it was announced that Anderson had miscarried while in Vancouver shooting a new film, Blonde and Blonder. Seventeen days later, on November 27, 2006, Anderson filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. Some news reports have suggested that Kid Rock's outrage during a screening of Borat, in which Anderson plays a cameo role, led to the filing for divorce two weeks later.

In September 2007, Anderson told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres that she was engaged. On September 29, Anderson and film producer Rick Salomon applied for a marriage license in Las Vegas. On October 6, 2007, Anderson married Salomon in a small wedding ceremony at The Mirage, between her two nightly appearances at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Hans Klok's magic show. The couple separated on December 13, and on February 22, 2008, Anderson requested through the courts that the marriage be annulled, citing fraud.

In February 2007, Anderson said that she still often had sex with Lee since their divorce. In mid-2008 Lee said that they were going to try again to make things work together.

Sex tapes controversy

A sex tape of Anderson and Tommy Lee on their honeymoon was stolen from their home, and made a huge stir on the Internet. Anderson sued the video distribution company, Internet Entertainment Group. Ultimately, the Lees entered into a confidential settlement agreement with IEG. Thereafter, the company began making the tape available to subscribers to its Web sites again, resulting in triple the normal traffic on the site.

A second tape, which was made before the Tommy Lee tape, involving Anderson and musician Bret Michaels from Poison was later announced, and an abridged version of less than 60 seconds appeared on the internet. Frames of the video first appeared in Penthouse magazine in March 1998. The tape was successfully blocked by Michaels, but a four-minute sex tape is still available on the Internet.

Legal

The California Franchise Tax Board cited Anderson as delinquent in state income taxes owing nearly $525,000, in a list of Top 500 Delinquent Taxpayers, updated on April 12, 2012. The tax board had filed a lien against Anderson on April 7, 2009.

Charitable work, activism and advocacy

Anderson is a vegan, an advocate for animal rights, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), taking part in several campaigns for animal rights. She became a vegetarian in her early teens when she saw her father cleaning an animal he had hunted.

One of Anderson's campaigns as a member of PETA has been against the use of fur. In 1999, Anderson received the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors, in recognition of her campaign. In 2003, Anderson stripped down for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" advertising campaign. On June 28, 2006, Anderson posed naked with other protesters on a window display of the Stella McCartney boutique in London, England. It was a PETA gala event before the PETA Humanitarian Awards. Anderson went inside the boutique and said she would take her clothes off if the event raised enough money for PETA, which it did. She campaigned against Kentucky Fried Chicken. 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. 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 refused 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.

She has also campaigned against seal hunting in Canada. In March 2006, Anderson asked to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the annual seal hunt but she was refused. In May 2006, she petitioned random individuals on the street for their opinion on the Canadian Seal Hunt. In December, 2009, Anderson, photographed in a t-shirt with a drawn picture of a seal pup on it, was featured in a new ad campaign for PETA. She appears next to the headline "Save the Seals" in the ad and urges the public to help end "Canada's annual seal slaughter." She joined forces with PETA in a campaign for the boycott of fruit-juice maker POM. The "Pom Horrible Campaign" has resulted in the company halting animal tests. In March 2005, Anderson became a spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics's MAC AIDS Fund, which helped people affected by AIDS and HIV. After becoming the official spokesmodel, Anderson raised money during events in Toronto, Tokyo, Dublin, and Athens. Anderson became the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation, and served as the Grand Marshal of the SOS motorcycle ride fundraiser. She wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama urging the legalization of cannabis.

Anderson became the center of controversy when she posed in a bikini nearly nude for a PETA ad that was banned in Montreal, Canada on grounds that the ad was sexist. Anderson retorted saying, "In a city that is known for its exotic dancing and for being progressive and edgy, how sad that a woman would be banned from using her own body in a political protest over the suffering of cows and chickens. In some parts of the world, women are forced to cover their whole bodies with burqas " is that next? I didn't think that Canada would be so puritanical."

She became a company spokesperson for FrogAds, Inc. in March 2012.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Playboy: Sexy Lingerie II	Herself	Self " video
1991	Playboy Video Playmate Calendar 1991	Herself	Self " video
1991	Playboy: Wet & Wild III	Herself	Self " video
1991	Playboy: Sexy Lingerie III	Herself	Self " video
1991	'	Cheerleader	Action film
1992	Playboy Video Centerfold: Pamela Anderson	Herself	Self " video
1992	Playboy: The Best of Sexy Lingerie	Herself	Self " video
1992	Playboy: Playmate Bloopers	Herself	Self " video
1992	Playboy: Playmates in Paradise	Herself	Self " video
1992	Playboy: Playmate Private Pleasures	Herself	Self " video
1993	Snapdragon	Felicity	Thriller film
1994	Raw Justice	Sarah	Thriller film
1995	Naked Souls	Britt	Independent thriller film
1995	Baywatch the Movie: Forbidden Paradise	Casey Jean "C.J" Parker	Television film
1995	Playboy: The Best of Pamela Anderson	Herself	Self " video
1995	Edenquest: Pamela Anderson	Herself	Self " video
1996	Barb Wire	Barb Wire	Sci-Fi film
1998	Pam & Tommy Lee: Stolen Honeymoon	Herself	Self " video
1998	Playboy: Celebrities	Herself	Self " video
1998	A Taste of Playboy: Personalities Volume 1	Herself	Self " video
1998	Playboy: Blondes, Brunettes, Redheads	Herself	Self " video
1999	Playboy: Sexiest Home Videos	Herself	Self " video
1999	Celebrities Caught on Camera: Volume 1	Herself	Self " video
1999	Playboy: Playmate Profile Video Collection Featuring Miss February 1999, 1996, 1993, 1990	Herself	Self " video
2001	Playboy Exposed: Playboy Mansion Parties Uncensored	Herself	Self " video
2001	Kid Rock " Forever	Herself	music video
2002	Playboy: Prime Time Playmates	Herself	Self " video
2002	Playboy: The Ultimate Pamela Anderson	Herself	Self " video
2002	Scooby-Doo	Herself	Uncredited
2002	Kid Rock " You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me	Herself	music video
2003	Scary Movie 3	Becca	Comedy spoof film
2003	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Herself	Comedy/mockumentary film
2004	Playboy: 50 Years of Playmates	Herself	Self " video
2005	No Rules	Herself	Action movie
2006	Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan	Herself	Mockumentary
2008	Superhero Movie	Invisible Girl	Comedy film
2008	Blonde and Blonder	Dee Twiddle	Comedy film
2010	Costa Rican Summer	Herself	Comedy film
2010	Hollywood & Wine	Herself	Comedy film
2010	The Commuter	Female Guest in Hotel	Short action/comedy film
2012	Yalan Dünya 2012	Herself (Guest)	Turkish comedy series

Television

• The Flintstones: Little Big League (1978)
• Charles in Charge episode "Teacher's Pest" (1990)
• Married... with Children episode "Al With Kelly" (1990)
• Married... with Children episode "Route 666: Part 2" (1991)
• Home Improvement (cast member from 1991"1993)
• Baywatch (cast member from 1992"1997) - Casey Jean "C.J." Parker
• Days of our Lives (cast member in 1992)
• Come Die with Me: A Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Mystery (1994)
• The Nanny episode "Danny's Dead and Who's Got the Will?" (1997)
• The Nanny episode "The Heather Biblow Story" (1997)
• V.I.P. (1998"2002)
• Futurama (voice) episode "A Fishful of Dollars" (1999)
• Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003) - Casey Jean "C.J." Parker
• Less Than Perfect episode "All About Claude" (2003)
• Stripperella (voice) (2003"2004)
• Stacked (2005"2006)
• Comedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson (2005)
• 8 Simple Rules episode "C.J.'s Temptation" (2005)
• 8 Simple Rules episode "Torn Between Two Lovers" (2005)
• MADtv (2005)
• Pam: Girl on the Loose (2008)
• The Sunday Night Project " Guest Host (2008)
• Big Brother Australia " House Guest for 3 days (2008)
• Dancing with the Stars (2010) " As contestant
• Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff (2010) " As roaster
• Magic Numbers (in the United Kingdom) (2010) " as guest
• Bigg Boss India " House Guest for 4 days (2010)
• Celebrity Juice " As a Guest
• Bailando 2011 (2011) " As contestant
• Les Anges de la télé-réalité (France, season 2) (2011) " as guest in Miami house
• Big Brother UK " as guest in the house (2011)
• Yalan Dünya episode number 9 (2012) " guest appearance as herself
• RuPaul's Drag Race " guest judge (2012)
• VIP Brother 4 (Bulgaria) - as guest in the house (2012)
• Dancing on Ice (2013)

In popular culture

Newman House is a pop architecture building constructed in 2003 in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia, which features a large image of Anderson's face. Sam Newman commissioned local architect Cassandra Fahey to design the building, and used the image with Anderson's permission. Permits were issued retroactively when it became a major local landmark and won the award for Best New Residential Building in the RAIA Victorian Architecture Awards.

Serbian comedy rock band Prljavi Inspektor Bla?a i Kljunovi released the song "Lepa si, Pamela" (trans. "You're Beautiful, Pamela") on their 1998 album Seks, droga i Bodiroga (Sex, Drugs and Bodiroga). In the song the band's frontman Igor "Prljavi Inspektor Bla?a" Bla?evi? declares his love to Pamela and makes threats to Tommy Lee, and the album cover features an image of Anderson and Bla?evi? in bed. In 2009 Bla?evi? met Anderson in Belgrade, presenting her with the Seks, droga i Bodiroga disc.