A Look at Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson Lee is famous for her Baywatch television series role and her much-publicized time spent in court. What two things were you thinking I meant?

Pamela Denise Anderson, one of the most prominent sex symbols of the 1990s, born on July 1st 1967 (4:08 am) in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. (She won $100. for being the first baby to be born on Canada Day). Shortly after she was born, her parents, a furnace repairman and a waitress, moved to Comox, British Columbia, about 285 miles north of Vancouver. It was there one day in a library that Pamela's modeling career would start. Pamela was sitting listening to a story with a group of other children when a photographer captured a picture of her that won the hearts of all that viewed it. It was quickly copyrighted and placed in all the libraries in British Columbia.

An offer from Playboy soon followed. She would go on to appear in five more issues of the magazine. Lee has the distinction of having appeared on the Playboy cover an unprecedented five times. Anderson parleyed her modeling success into a series of bit parts on television programs. She got her first big break in 1991 as the "Tool Time Girl" on the sitcom Home Improvement. While there, she attracted the attention of casting agents from Baywatch, who were looking to replace Erika Elaniak, the show's then-current blonde bombshell. The hour-long show portraying the lives of Malibu lifeguards was a nearly plot less vehicle for semi-nude video montages and the critics panned it accordingly. However, fueled by frequent shots of the voluptuous Anderson, the show became the highest rated program worldwide. Anderson was responsible for the popular success of the television series Baywatch. In its day, Baywatch was the most popular show in the world.

Anderson’s television success did not transfer well to the big screen. Despite mass publicity, including an appearance by Anderson at the Cannes Film Festival clad in a skintight cat suit, her first effort, Barb Wire, was both a critical and commercial failure.

Pamela has starred in several other roles outside of Baywatch, including an uncredited role in the 1992 flop, "The Taking of Beverly Hills". After that, she went on to star as "Felicity" in the thriller "Snapdragon". This one is highly recommended if you're a Pam fanatic. In 1994, she played the part of "Sarah" in the HBO movie "Raw Justice" with David Keith. Mickey Spillane's detective series, "Mike Hammer" came calling later that year and Pamela found herself playing the very beautiful "Velda". In 1995, Pamela played a quirky artist in the TV movie, "The Evolution of Mr. E.", adapted from the H.G. Wells book of the same name.

Anderson appeared in two more videos in 1995. One was Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise. The other was The Best of Pamela Anderson. This was a biographical video that contained footage from her Playboy video shoots. It went to number one on the video sales charts, knocking off Forrest Gump. Around the same time, the rapidly growing Internet, which included a huge number of pictures of her, propelled her to major stardom.

On New Year's Eve in 1994, Pamela was attending a party in New York where she met Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee. (He came right up to her and licked her face!) They talked off and on and after he begged her several times for her phone number, she finally gave in and let him have it. Tommy called Pamela over and over again for the next few weeks trying to arrange a date and in the first week of Febuary 1995, he succeeded only to be cancelled on at the last moment. He wasn't about to give up on Pamela though, she'd been called away to Cancun, Mexico to do a photo shoot for her sun-tan lotion line and Tommy, determined to win over Pamela at any cost, followed her. In 1995, after four days of courting and endless parties, the two were married on a beach. The groom wore swimming trunks, the bride a white thong bikini. They are one of the most notorious couples in show business because they keep splitting up and getting back together.

Less than two years after the marriage, Anderson filed for divorce among rumours of physical abuse. Although they quickly reconciled, it was not the last of their marriage troubles. In 1998, 911 received a call from Anderson claiming that Tommy had attacked her during an argument. He was charged for spousal and child abuse, as well as illegal firearm possession. After a conviction, he was sentenced to six months in prison. Anderson filed for divorce and for custody of their two children, Brandon and Dylan Jagger (born Dec 29th, 1997). She also had her Tommy tattoo changed to Mommy.

Pamela has also charged Tommy with physical abuse and child abuse numerous times. Pamela two sons with Tommy: Brandon-born 6/6/96 & Dylan-born 29/12/97.

In 1997, a pornographic home video of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee was stolen from their home, and made a huge stir on the Internet. Stills from the stolen honeymoon tape were printed in the French edition of Penthouse. The tape was then released in its entirety over the Internet. Among the things revealed in the tape was the location of Tommy Lee’s tattoo of Pamela’s name. The Lee’s sued Internet Entertainment Group for invasion of privacy and buying stolen property. After settling out of court, the video was widely released in two version: The R-rated Stolen Honeymoon and the uncensored X-rated Hardcore & Uncensored.

Having left "Baywatch" in 1997, Anderson returned to the small screen with "V.I.P.". The series, for which she was also the executive producer, starred Anderson as Vallery Irons. She was the head of Vallery Irons Protection (VIP), a Beverly Hills bodyguard agency. Strangely enough, all of the bodyguards happened to be models. As expected, the intelligence level of the show was at about the same level, if lower, as "Baywatch".

In 2002, after having divorced Lee and four seasons of "V.I.P" behind her, Anderson announced she was taking a year off to concentrate on her health and spend time with her sons and her boyfriend, Kid Rock. She did have some projects still in the works however, including starting a regular magazine column and producing an animated series based on her likeness in the form of a superhero called "Striperella."

The entertainment media predicted, in 1998, that Hollywood would lose interest in the outspoken and overexposed Lee after her much-reported silicone implant removal operation. Not so. This is one starlet with more than meets the eye -- and that’s saying a lot.