Pamela Anderson Says She Left Hollywood for Canada to 'Remember Who I Was'

11/03/2024 02:55 PM

In a new interview, the 'Baywatch' star said she didn't want to be "defined" by other people's misperceptions of her

Pamela Anderson is rediscovering herself — and leaving the past behind.

Back in 2020, the Baywatch actress, 57, made the decision to relocate to her home country of Canada. In a new interview with Women's Wear Daily (WWD), Anderson said her move to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was an opportunity to reconnect with her true self.

"I guess [it was] a homecoming, you could say, to really kind of look at my life and remember who I was — not what other people were telling me I was," she told the outlet.

Related: Pamela Anderson Reveals She 'Had Depression for a Couple of Decades' but Says Past 'Struggles' Were 'Worth It'

"And I didn't want anything that had happened to me to define me. I wanted what I do to define me," she continued.

This isn't the first time the former Playboy model has spoken about her decision to return to her roots.

"I was not in a good space when I moved back to Canada," Anderson said in an interview with Better Homes & Gardensfor its September 2024 cover story.

"I don't know what happened over the last few decades, but I feel now so far removed from the image of who I was," she explained. "I felt very sad and lonely. I didn't feel just misunderstood, I felt like I had really screwed up, that my whole life was a bundle of mistakes. I was hard on myself, and I thought I put my family through a lot and put my kids through so much."

Anderson shares two sons, Brandon, 28, and Dylan, 26, with her ex-husband Tommy Lee.

"It took me a couple years of transitioning and thinking," she told Better Homes & Gardens. "I was finally able to sit with myself."  

Anderson noted that she spent the first few years after the move personally renovating a property for her parents, writing and learning to bake. The time of self-reflection resulted in her 2023 memoir Love, Pamela, as well as a cookbook called I Love You, which was published in October 2024.

The author is also currently promoting the launch of a new skin cleanser from Sonsie, a vegan skin care company she co-owns. She says the product, which she helped create, was inspired by her rose garden. 

Related: Every Time Pamela Anderson Went Makeup-Free

"When I started working with the Sonsie group, I really wanted to start applying my life lessons and things that I've learned along the way — accepting where you are on your beauty journey — and I just felt like the rose garden, for me, was a very grounding message, because I kind of rediscovered myself in the rose garden," she told WWD.

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Anderson also continues to act. The animal rights activist most recently starred in The Last Showgirl, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September and will hit movie theaters on Jan. 10. She is also set to star in a new Naked Gun film with Liam Neeson.

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"I don't know how I pulled this off," Anderson told WWD of the various projects that have come her way recently. "Just like this movie I'm doing, I don't know how I pulled it off either. I just feel like the stars have aligned, and if you just believe in yourself long enough … always keep that little fire burning."

"You know, timing is everything. So this seems to be my time, so I'm embracing it," she added.