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Sometimes Bigger is Better: The Pamela Anderson Story

There are many labels that one can give Paris Hilton but most people wouldn’t identify the socialite as an incisive truth sayer. However, when the not lacking for confidence Hilton famously stated that there is a defining blonde for every generation, she was right on the money. Although time will tell if she is indeed the defining blonde of her generation as she claims, there is definitely one woman who holds that distinction for the 1990s – Pamela Anderson. At a time when people become celebrities for dubious reasons, Anderson has managed to hold on to her status as a global icon for over a decade. Famed for her bubbly attitude, forthright demeanor and her surgically enhanced appearance, Pamela Anderson has managed to defy the odds. While it is not uncommon for women to rocket to fame on the strength of their looks, Pamela Anderson has managed to carve out an identity as one of our generation’s most unlikely likeable celebrities with a mixture of self-effacement and business savvy. The blonde bombshell is a fixture on the tabloid pages and her personal life is among the most public in Hollywood. As well known for her active participation for animal rights as she is for any acting accolades that she may have received in her career, Pamela Anderson’s star continues to shine brightly. Her niche as one of the most well known names throughout the world was evident in her role in the hit movie, “Borat.” In the 2006 comedy, a boorish Kazakhstan journalist reroutes his Tocqueville-esqe trip through America to go on a Quixotic quest to woo Anderson and maker her his wife. Anderson’s appearance in this highly satiric comedy showcases her likeability. Of course, the question remains how exactly did pamela anderson rise to her current status. It would appear that Pamela Anderson was destined for great things since the time she was born. The day was July 1, 1967 and Canada was celebrating its centennial. On this historic day in Canada, Pamela Anderson was born in the British Columbia town of Ladysmith. Born at 4:08 in the morning, Pamela Anderson gained instant fame as Canada’s Centennial Baby. However, this early glimpse of stardom was short lived as it was discovered that there was a baby that was actually born two hours earlier in the day. As a child, Anderson was raised in the British Columbia town of Comox. Her childhood was normal, except Pamela Anderson was greatly influenced by her Finnish grandfather, Herman Anderson. Describing him as a bit of a new age thinker, Pamela Anderson was inspired by his way of life, which would have a great affect on her way of thinking. While at school, Anderson excelled at school and was given the nickname Rubber band due to the flexibility she showed while doing gymnastics. As a teenager, Pamela Anderson displayed little of the ambition that would take her to the celebrity realm. However, her high school goal of becoming a California beach bum would turn out to be eerily prescient. Pamela Anderson would eventually move to the Canadian cosmopolitan city of Vancouver in 1988, where she worked as a fitness instructor. Seemingly content with her life, Anderson’s life would drastically change on a summer day in 1989. While attending a BC Lions CFL football game, TV cameras picked her out from the crowd and showcased her on the stadium’s giant screen. Anderson was wearing a Labatt’s T-shirt and the crowd couldn’t get enough of her. Recognizing a great opportunity, Labatt contacted Pamela Anderson within weeks of the football game to see if she would be interested in a modeling opportunity. Soon after, Anderson graced Labatt’s poster and TV ad campaign, making her a recognizable figure within Western Canada. It’s funny – sometimes when opportunity knocks, it completely knocks down the door. During the summer of 1989, Pamela Anderson’s modeling career had kicked off and it was soon that she would be noticed outside of Canada. Playboy Magazine noticed the voluptuous bombshell and thought that Anderson would be the perfect model to feature within their prestigious pages. Initially resistant, Pamela Anderson finally relented and appeared on the cover of the October 1989 Playboy edition. Seeing that her high school dream of lounging on the beaches of California was more possible than ever, Anderson would soon move to Los Angeles to continue with her modeling career. California is a place that is full of aspiring models and Anderson quickly displayed the savvy that has made her an unlikely celebrity. Soon after her move to Los Angeles, Pamela Anderson dyed her hair blonde and obtained breast implants. Within two years, Anderson obtained a recurring spot on the Tim Allen sitcom, “Home Improvement.” Now a recognized figure on television, Anderson parlayed her small role on the popular sitcom into a starring role in the NBC show “Baywatch.” The show followed a group of Los Angeles County lifeguards who had to react quickly to the many trials and tribulations that occur on the crowded beaches of the area. Starring Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff, the show did not meet NBC’s expectations and was quickly cancelled after one season. However, Hasselhoff believed strongly in Baywatch’s formula of beautiful people solving problems dressed up in skimpy lifeguard clothing. He revived the show in syndication where it became a global phenomenon. The show lasted eleven seasons and propelled Pamela Anderson and other actresses such as Nicole Eggert, Yasmine Bleeth, Geena Lee Nolin, and Carmen Electra into international stardom. While Baywatch has never been a big hit with the critics, it also has the distinction of being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most watched television show in the world with a reported viewership over 1.1 billion. Pamela Anderson was arguably the biggest star on Baywatch where she remained for five seasons. This allowed her to make a foray into the movie business. While she had starred in a couple of straight to video movies, her first notable movie was in the futuristic remake of Casablanca, Barbwire. Although Barbwire was one of the most anticipated movies of 1995, it did not do great at the box office. However, acting success could do little to interrupt Pamela Anderson’s star power. Well known for her busty looks and for her slightly ditzy behavior, Anderson shrewdly manipulated her public image as a way to remain as one of the most recognized figures in the world. After taking a hiatus from television, Pamela Anderson returned with a vengeance in the show V.I.P. Acting also as the producer, Anderson told the story of a secret investigative agency that uses Anderson’s ditzy Valerie Irons as its figurehead. Although many people like myself are big fans of the show, the vast majority of the public wasn’t. Despite bad reviews and plummeting ratings, V.I.P. managed to stay on the air for four years. Since then, Pamela Anderson has appeared in the sitcom, Stacked, and was also the object of Borat’s affection in the 2006 mega hit, Borat. While it would appear that Anderson’s career has stalled, you can never count out a mega watt celebrity like Pamela Anderson out of the game. To learn more about Pamela Anderson’s career, check out the article Pamela Anderson Video. One of the biggest questions that people have about Pamela Anderson is wondering how she has remained famous. Many other women have a busty blonde look and these women have probably had a more successful acting career than Anderson. However, one of the biggest appeals of Pamela Anderson has been her frank openness about her personal life. A fixture on tabloids throughout most of her career, Anderson has been known to brag about her sexual prowess, a claim that only reinforces her stature as one of the world’s biggest sex symbols. Adding more to her appeal has been her turbulent relationship with Motley Crue drummer, Tommy Lee. Although Tommy Lee hadn’t had a big hit since the 1980s with the Crue, people were fascinated when they discovered that Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee had married on February 19, 1995. The most impressive thing about this relationship was the fact that they had only known each other for 96 hours. While many people were skeptical about the future prospects of this relationship, somehow Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee would emerge to be one of the most identified couples of their generation. To find out more about the couple, check out the article Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Of course, just because Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee are forever linked together in people’s minds, it doesn’t mean that their marriage lasted for a long. In fact, the couple would divorce three years after their marriage but would continue an on-again and off-again courtship. While three years may be considered a short time for a marriage, the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee marriage was notable for how hectic it was. Shortly after their honeymoon, the couple was moving homes when something was stolen from their home – a videotape of their honeymoon. As anybody who has ever been on a honeymoon before knows, there are a lot of expressions of love that are being made. The stolen honeymoon videotape was soon leaked on the Internet and sold at stores. Known as the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee Sex Tape, this video strangely changed pop culture in a way that is still being determined. Rather than causing an embarrassment and blemishing Anderson and Lee’s career, it actually increased their popularity. The fact that the video was stolen made it much easier for people to sympathize with the couple. In fact, almost everybody came out a winner in this situation. For the millions of people around the world who wanted to see Pamela Anderson Nude or Pamela Anderson Naked, they got the wish with the pamela anderson sex tape. Anderson and Lee cemented their reputations as dangerous sex symbols and increased their cache as a couple. The company that released the pamela anderson sex video made a ton of money of the video’s sales and the video’s success led to celebrities releasing their own sex videos as a way to boost their careers. In addition to having their privacy violated with the public release of their honeymoon sex video, Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s marriage was also marked with instances of domestic abuse that led to Lee being imprisoned for six months. There was also Anderson’s accusation that Lee had given her the disease, Hepatitis C. On top of all of these wildness was the fact that the couple also produced two children: Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee. Although Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson are no longer together, it doesn’t mean that Anderson’s personal life isn’t still an object of scrutiny. Following the end (or is it) of her relationship with Tommy Lee, Pamela Anderson has been engaged twice – once to Swedish born male supermodel, Marcus Schkenkenberg and once to self-proclaimed American Badass, Kid Rock. While Anderson didn’t end up making a trip down the aisle with Sckenkenberg, she did marry Kid Rock on July 29, 2006. Unfortunately, Anderson’s marriage to Kid Rock will be much more short lived than her marriage to Tommy Lee as the two would divorce on November 27, 2006. While it is not known what was the cause of the couple’s split, some news reports have indicated that it may have had something to do with Kid Rock’s anger at Anderson’s participation in the movie Borat.
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