Pamela Anderson has always had a very distinctive sense of style. The actress – who shot to fame when she was just 22 years old – carved out a career as the ultimate blonde bombshell, famous for her pin-up looks and rock ‘n’ roll style. Looking at her right now – as we sit in her hotel suite in Copenhagen – she is dressed in a silk co-ord, hair loosely pulled back off her face, sitting barefaced and barefoot while animatedly opening up about her growing self-confidence, it’s clear that Anderson is in a new era, and one that really suits her.
“I started to feel like I was dressing for other people, whether that was husbands or just for the rest of the world and how they perceived me,” she says. “I really felt the trappings of dressing for others, and I had got to an age – or maybe just a moment in my life – where I started looking back at my journey, reflecting on what I was wearing and why.”
In early 2023, Anderson released both a memoir and a documentary about her life, and having this period of self-reflection prompted a change in her, she explains.
“It really became about peeling everything away, taking all that noise away and finding myself – I think it’s quite poetic, and it brings up a lot of feeling and emotion. Clothing and make-up is a way to express yourself to the world – and I really wanted to be vulnerable. In a fashion sense, that really felt like a bold move to me. I just had this moment where I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have got to get off this crazy train. Why am I trying to keep up with the Joneses? You know, I’m 57 years old. I’m not 20 anymore.’ I just decided, that’s it.”
Anderson chose overnight to stop wearing make-up, paring her look right back, and moving away from the Pamela Anderson that everyone had known in her almost four decades in the spotlight. She was leaving a character behind.
“It felt a bit like jumping into the abyss – but it really resonated with people,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting it to and I wasn’t doing it for anyone else, but it’s been such a positive journey. People come up to me now and say: ‘I never really liked you before, but I actually love you now.’”
Anderson has had such an overwhelmingly positive response – fans have praised her for showing her imperfections and for encouraging others to embrace their natural beauty. And, she has been propelled back into the spotlight as a whole other generation has got to know her, leading to new and exciting opportunities. This includes being made the global ambassador for Danish jewellery label Pandora, a brand that she says really resonates with who she is.
“It genuinely feels like a perfect fit – the sustainability angle is very important to me,” she explains. “I’ve always looked for brands that are cruelty-free and prioritise sustainability. I always think that compassion is sexy and sensual and romantic – when you are choosing what you buy, it is a radical move to opt for the more sustainable option. That was definitely the case in the past at least – now it might be more commonplace, but it is something I have been doing for 30 years, back when it was just annoying to be asking people if something was cruelty-free.”
Anderson particularly loves Pandora’s lab-grown diamonds for this reason – “You literally cannot tell the difference, so why not buy the more sustainable option?” – but she also says that she feels more comfortable fronting a label that is accessible.
“I have always been a little nervous wearing super expensive jewellery – it just wasn’t me. I like that this is accessible, it’s attainable and it’s still beautiful.”
Our chat took place just a few hours before Anderson attended a celebratory dinner for Pandora during Copenhagen Fashion Week, which she turned into a family affair, inviting her two sons Brandon and Dylan along. She attended wearing a slinky white top and matching trousers, a slicked back ponytail and just a dab of red lipstick. It was not the work of a full glam army.
“I dress myself and I do my own hair and make-up (that is, when I wear any at all),” she explained ahead of the event. “It’s the most freeing, wonderful experience. Of course, when we do photo shoots, there are stylists and make-up artists and all of that, but for real-life events, I just want to keep it very small and do it myself – I’ll just pull my hair back and put on a tiny bit of make-up. The whole glam team thing – it’s just not my style anymore. I have spent so much of my life in a make-up chair and I have missed out on so much.”
Wearing minimal make-up and toning down one’s fashion choices might not seem like a huge statement for some but for Anderson, it’s a shift that is all about authenticity, and sharing a positive message in what is now an overly-filtered ‘perfect’ world.
“I just want to see young people embrace who they really are, to just be themselves. I know that’s a cliché but these are clichés for a reason – it’s actually true. Be who you want to be – I feel like that’s what I am finally doing now.”