Anderson Comeback
Pamela Anderson’s reinvention reflects a deeper critique of how femininity, aging, and public perception intersect, framing self-authorship as a form of cultural resistance.
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When I think of Pamela Anderson, the image that immediately pops into my mind is of the blond bombshell running at the beach wearing a red bathing suit and perfect hair flowing through the wind. I kind of hate that this is the first thing that I recall when I hear her name, something so reductive, especially about a woman, especially never having watched Baywatch.
Anderson was iconic in the 90s. Her aesthetic was well defined by denim shorts, the blond bombshell hair, low-cut tops, thin eyebrows, contoured lips, and tight short dresses. She was considered a sex symbol, and that label haunted her as a non-serious actress, a non-serious person even. Makes sense, right? We know that women can’t be sexy and smart (contains irony).
The thing about aging in the film industry is that it can be a synonym of losing roles. Mostly, you no longer get to be the protagonist but someone’s mom, someone’s teacher, someone’s boss… You got the idea. Sum that to being reduced to just-a-hot-blonde and bum: when was the last time you heard of Anderson’s work before The Last Showgirl ?
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Speaking of which, Gia Coppola wouldn't take no for an answer when she decided to cast Anderson as the main character in the movie. The story is about a 57-year-old dancer who rethinks her entire life once the show she has been in for the last 30 years comes to an end. This role marks the rebirth of Anderson as an actress capable of more than just running at the beach and being sexy. An actress who can cry and make you cry too. Why can’t a woman do both?
It tastes good to see that times are changing. The Substance hype can be very much compared to the main issue in The Last Showgirl: aging and facing your choices. Moreover, how amazing it is to see how two actresses, Pamela Anderson and Demi Moore, made their comeback with productions about getting older in the industry, about how women are discarded when they are no longer considered “young and beautiful.” And how there is so much more yet to be seen, to be done.
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Anderson is also known for her activism on animal rights, a cause she has embraced for more than 25 years. One of her most legendary moments was when she decided to make a campaign with PETA, taking advantage of the image the media had created about her. In her documentary for Netflix, Pamela, a Love Story, she speaks about that idea: “I was sick of talking about my boyfriends and my boobs all the time. But I thought if I can attach it to animal activism or activism for the environment, then it meant something.”
Another Anderson act considered courageous and rebellious is her decision to stop wearing makeup, using as little to almost none, including on red carpets. How funny it is that stopping wearing makeup can be considered transgressive when it’s done by a female? Anyway, her reply for Vogue was as simple as it can be: “I was doing it more for me than anything. I was just like, ‘Why am I putting so much effort into this? Why am I in a make-up chair for three hours?’” I get you, girl.
Interestingly, that 90’s branding image of the artist has been very much alive with the Y2K revival. The return of mini skirts, apple-bottom jeans (hope you have read this to the rhythm), and of course, lip liner and thin brows also bring Anderson's name back to the table as an influence not only to that aesthetic but also to the mob wife one. She is trending all around.
Paris Fashion Week, 2023, via British Vogue © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Today, Anderson honors her history without getting stuck in the past: she acknowledges her wrong choices and said in interviews that she would make some things different but at the same time knows that these same ‘mistakes’ brought her the knowledge she has today. That would be my definition of wisdom.
To me, the biggest role she has played, and is still ongoing, in her career is to show how a woman can always do both. How your looks do not define your brain and how your past does not define your future.
Now, when I think of Pamela Anderson, what comes to my mind is the beautiful monologue at the end of The Last Showgirl, the vegan activism, a woman who decided not to spend so much time of her life putting makeup on. I think of how it's never too late to reinvent yourself and begin again and again.
