Pamela Anderson

‘Just Because I’ve Been on Baywatch and in Playboy Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Have a Heart, Soul and Brain’

- Michelle Davies

Despite suffering childhood and adult abuse and battling hepatitis C, her stunning looks and campaigning spirit have made the actress a global star Pamela Denise Anderson made her mark the second she was born. Arriving on 1 July 1967 in Canada, she was the first infant to be born on the 100th anniversary of the nation’s official founding. She was named ‘Centennial Baby’ by the media and featured in countless publications. Today, as she celebrates her 50th birthday and a screen comeback in the film version of Baywatch, Anderson’s impact is still being felt. She’s among the world’s most recognisable actresses, remains a popular pin-up in an arena where youth usually triumphs, and is a leading animal rights campaigner. And yet she’s still often forced to defend herself against typecasting. ‘Just because I’ve been on Baywatch and in Playboy doesn’t mean I don’t have a heart, soul and brain,’ she regularly outlines in interviews.

Anderson was raised with her younger brother Gerry in a small fishing town called Ladysmith by their mum Carol, a waitress, and dad, Barry, an engineer. A tomboy at school – she was star player in the volleyball team – Anderson spent her teens dreaming about living by the beach in California. How she ended up there is the stuff of fairy tales. In 1989, when she was 22 and living in Vancouver, working for the tourist board, Anderson went to a football match. A cameraman spotted her in the crowd and projected her face on to the stadium’s big screen to deafening cheers. She’d dressed in a crop top with the slogan for Labatt’s Blue Zone beer, and the savvy brewery instantly signed her up to front an ad campaign.