Pamela Anderson’s Style Mantra Is Less Makeup, More Jewellery
The former 'FASHION' cover star talks about her new film 'The Last Showgirl' premiering at TIFF, her second act and why she loves Pandora jewels.
Pamela Anderson is entering her jewellery era. “I feel like with less makeup, I can wear more jewellery,” she says on a grey Sunday morning in Toronto. Case in point: When I meet her, Anderson is wearing a simple black silk shirt and pants, accessorized with a diamond tennis necklace and studs, custom-made for her by Pandora. “I’ve done the ‘extra’ look in the past but I don’t want to look like I did when I was 20,” she says of her new style mantra. “This is a different time for me.”
After releasing her documentary Pamela: A Love Story, and her memoir, Love, Pamela, in 2023, the world was reintroduced — and swiftly became re-obsessed — with Pamela Anderson. A TV star, a fashion icon, an animal rights and environmental activist, the November 2023 FASHION cover star is no longer the butt of every bad late night joke. She’s a survivor. She’s a fighter. And at 57, she’s reclaiming her narrative and finally living her best life. “It feels like a dream!”
Besides repping Pandora — “they’re so generous and supportive of me!” — Anderson is in town for the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of her new film The Last Showgirl. Directed by Gia Coppola and co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Dave Bautista, the drama has received rave reviews for showing a deeply honest and poignant portrayal of an aging Vegas showgirl coming to terms with the end of her 30-year career, her dashed dreams and a future she never wanted.
And if some of that sounds a bit familiar, it did to Anderson too. “I couldn’t have done this movie at any other time in my life,” she shares, earnestly. “As soon as I read it, I knew I had to do it — this was meant for me.” It’s a feeling that Anderson admits she’s never experienced before, probably due to that fact that she’s “never gotten a good script” until this one.
“There was a time where I had given up — when some things had happened in my life…” she begins, references to ex-husbands and stolen tapes hanging in the air. “I had to stuff my dreams away and I said ‘OK, this trajectory of being an actress is over.’ I had to just numb myself to get through the day, pay the bills, do what I had to do to make sure my kids were OK. And then I got this second chance and it’s such a gift.” A gift she doesn’t take lightly.
Anderson emphasizes how she did her due diligence for this film. She had lunch with former showgirls. They showed her the showgirl walk. They even revealed a few tricks of the trade, with Anderson saying ominously “there’s no such thing as pasties.” Despite the quirky anecdotes, throughout our conversation it’s clear that Anderson feels the weight of the opportunity she’s been given. She repeatedly says how she “can’t let anybody down,” and every time she mentions it, it feels more like she’s reassuring herself rather than giving me interview answers. It’s this rare vulnerability that has made fans and critics alike fall even harder for her, with the BBC calling Anderson’s performance in The Last Showgirl “a revelation.”
“No one could ever get my focus,” she says of past roles. “Before, I always had some crazy jealous boyfriend or husband that I was trying to please. I was raising two kids alone. But this film actually touches on that. How do you work and raise kids? Do you put your dreams aside or do they come around later on in life?”
For Anderson, it was important she never let that light go out inside of her. And that internal light was only amplified by the very literal lights and glitter on her The Last Showgirl costumes, many of which were archival Bob Mackie creations, and shared a few similarities with outfits from her own past (who could forget the 1999 VMAs?).
Now, however, Anderson in her quiet luxury era, favouring elegant suits and luxe separates over fun fur hats and beaded bikinis. That’s not to say she still doesn’t like to have fun. She says she frequently shops in her own closet or rather, a very edited down version of it. And just the other day she created her very own Pandora charm bracelet. “I told them we need to collaborate on garden charms,” she explains, referencing her affinity for homesteading in this softer phase of her life. “I want tomatoes and buckets and maybe even sourdough bread. We could call it the Pamela collection!”
Until then, she’s loving the bespoke 16-inch Era Necklace and two-carat Era Earrings from Pandora that adorn her neckline and lobes today. “This whole collaboration with Pandora is great because I’ve always tried to live sustainably,” she shares. “So when I learned that they are a sustainable company on so many levels, like using recycled materials and no mining, [it was amazing]! They actually walk the walk.”
Or should we say dance the dance? Either way, with the release of The Last Showgirl and her trusty jewels by her side, Pamela Anderson is so ready for this next chapter of her life, hinting at more acting roles to come. “These last few years have been so exciting and special,” she says with a grin. “I’m focused, I’m working and I’m enjoying it.” As is the rest of the world.
