For decades, the Baywatch star has been a fashion and beauty hero, but in a recent interview with Elle, she disclosed that she’d started removing her makeup.
She described leaving it behind as ‘freeing and enjoyable, and a bit rebellious too,’ as she looks forward to the challenge of growing older.
Anderson stated that she had witnessed “all these people doing big makeup looks” and that it seemed “just like me to go against the grain and do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.”
She went on to say that individuals “all start looking a little funny as we get older,” but she was able to “kind of laugh at herself” when she saw her reflection in the mirror and felt like she was “in a good place.”
However, there was a far more significant reason for her decision to stop wearing makeup, and it is linked to the tragic loss of her makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, who died of breast cancer in 2019.
“She was fantastic.” And I’ve just felt that without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup,” Anderson explained.
Anderson and Vogel initially collaborated on a photo for Playboy magazine, and they frequently collaborated after that, with Vogel responsible for the star’s characteristic smoky-eyed appearance.
“I’d rather flaunt my freckles.” It’s enjoyable to grow old. It feels good. Without makeup, we seem younger and fresher at a certain age.” She went on to say:
“This is me, and I’m content with who I am right now.” It’s a new world, and I’m grateful for everyone’s support.”
Anderson debuted on the cover of WWD makeup-free in February of this year, and she has since made numerous appearances sans makeup.
She also told Elle that earlier in her career, she ‘simply went along with what others were instructing me to do’ and wasn’t given any say over her appearance.
While Baywatch made Pamela Anderson renowned throughout the world, her son Brandon Thomas Lee claimed earlier this year that she doesn’t get much money from the show’s residuals.
It’s a hot issue in Hollywood right now, thanks to the huge strike action that has seen writers and performers walk out in protest of the major studios and streaming services.
Many actors have raised the problem of how little they gain from the residual profits of their roles, and Anderson’s son recently disclosed how much his mother made from Baywatch residuals.
Brandon called it a “crime” that his mother earned less than $4,000 per year from the immensely successful program.