Tess Holliday – Bombshell

Model and body positivity activist Tess Holliday channels her inner Pamela Anderson for this sexy shoot.

- By Charlie Connell. Photos by Orin Fleurimont

Back when Pamela Anderson’s “Barb Wire” hit theaters in 1996, expectations soared. As Anderson swapped out the sexy red swimsuit that made her a television star on “Baywatch” for even sexier black leather, it seemed like the adaptation of the popular Dark Horse comic book was destined for box office gold. But, as William Goldman said, “Nobody knows anything,” and the film was widely viewed as a flop as it failed to break even at the box office.

That being said, teenagers couldn’t possibly care less about how much money a studio makes on a movie. A young Tess Holliday didn’t see a box office bomb when she watched the film, she saw a stunning bombshell in Anderson. She saw a bold woman kicking ass, riding a chopper and looking damn fine while doing so. It was an inspiration.

So when Inked gave Holliday creative control over a photoshoot, recreating the image of Anderson on a motorcycle naturally came to mind. “She was so iconic in that time, and I felt really ready to tackle something like this,” Holliday says. “I practiced Pamela Anderson’s face for a week leading up to the shoot. I just went around doing her faces. I was like, ‘I look like Pamela Anderson on her way to the buffet right now. I look hot as hell on the way to grub.’”