Pamela Andersonbecame a cultural icon 30 years ago for two reasons. Her infamous sex tape with the then-hubby Tommy Lee and her time spent wearing her equally iconic red swimsuit in the TV seriesBaywatch. So as she celebrates her 54th birthday today, the star had plenty of admirers who wanted to send their best wishes to the actress, who is about to be the subject of the upcomingPam & Tommybiographical drama starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan in the respective title roles.
TheCanadian-American actressoriginally became the subject of male adoration thanks to her numerous appearances on the cover of Playboy magazine. To prove the point, Anderson still holds the record as having the most appearances on the cover of the magazine, and it certainly played a pivotal role in her career in a decade when “sex sells” was very much back in fashion. From her first major TV role in the first two seasons ofHome Improvement, she then became a household name as CJ Parker inBaywatch, a part she played for five years between 1992 and 1997, as well as returning for the specialBaywatch: Hawaiian Wedding TVmovie in 2003.
During her time onBaywatch, it was believed that Pamela Anderson had written into her contract that she would appear in a set number of the show’s most remembered slow-motion scenes, which usually involved the actress wearing very little either running along the beach, working out or drying off after a dip in the sea. The result of this further enhanced her sex symbol image, leading to her appearance in movies such asBarb WireandRaw Justice, in which her blonde bombshell persona was played to the max and even the movie posters were dominated by her big haired, busty image.
Following her departure fromBaywatch, which many would argue tried very hard to replace her but never quite managed, Anderson went on to star in the action comedy seriesV.I.P. for four years. By this time, she had divorced Tommy Lee and her career seemed to plateau. While still a popular and frequent Playboy centerfold, and appearing in numerous other men’s magazines such as FHM and Maxim, her film and TV appearances were either direct to video efforts or one off roles. In the 2000s, she starred in the third installment of theScary Moviefranchise and her two longest serving TV roles outsideBaywatch, as a voiceover on 13 episodes ofStripperella, and as Skyler Dayton in 19 episodes ofStacked.
Over the last decade, the busty star has continued to maintain her place in the public eye, appearing on numerous reality TV shows, making a cameo in the rebootedBaywatchmovie, and marrying a total of five more times since her split from Tommy Lee. Away from the screen, Anderson has also devoted a lot of time to advocating for animal rights groups, being an active member of PETA, and on behalf of environmental issues.
With the newPam & Tommyfictionalizeddocumentary due soon, it is not likely that Pamela Anderson is about to disappear from our screens anytime soon, and fans were happy to share images and birthday wishes with her via social media. Here are just a few of the messages posted to celebrate the occasion.
