For more than three decades, Pamela Anderson has been the pinnacle of beauty and grace on television screens and magazine covers — but the story of how she got discovered is quite unique.
Anderson grew up in Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada. It wasn’t until she appeared on the jumbotron at a BC Lions Canadian Football League game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver that she shot to fame. She was wearing a cropped Labatt’s beer T-shirt at the time of the appearance.
The jumbotron moment led to her appearing in Playboy and later snagging the role of C.J. Parker on Baywatch. She went on to appear in plenty of other projects over the years, including V.I.P., Stacked and Barb Wire.
After her unconventional rise to fame, Anderson looks back on her career fondly.
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“I wouldn’t change one thing about my life or I wouldn’t be here,” she told Deadline in November 2024.
Scroll below for a look back at how Anderson became a household name.
Pamela Anderson Recalls Jumbotron Moment
Anderson recalled the viral jumbotron moment while appearing in Harper’s Bazaar’s All About Me series.
“I got free tickets to a football game, and then the camera man found me in the audience and put me up on the jumbotron,” she said during the January 2025 interview. “It’s funny because I remember seeing myself up on the big screen and thinking, ‘Oh, you look old,’ and I must have been, like, 22 and then I didn’t think about it. Then I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness,’ that was my first reaction, and my second reaction was, ‘Oh, I’m on the TV screen.’”
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What Happened After the Jumbotron?
Anderson, who was 22 years old at the time, got the call to become a spokesmodel for Labatt. Shortly after, Anderson landed the cover of Playboy in October 1989.
She reflected on the experience while visiting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2025.
“People called, and Playboy called, and I came to L.A. It was my first plane ride,” she shared.
“I did not know that was the story,” host Jimmy Fallon admitted. “They thought you were stunning on the jumbotron.”
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Ultimately, she decided to move to Los Angeles for more opportunities after the Playboy spread.
She made her acting debut in a 1990 episode of Charles in Charge and snagged the role of Lisa in Home Improvement the following year. Anderson made her Baywatch debut in 1992. She left the show in 1997.
Baywatch is just one of the big-name projects on Anderson’s resume. She has since gone on to star in The Last Showgirl, The Naked Gun and Broadway’s Chicago.
Pamela Anderson Says Her Career Has Only Just Begun
While Anderson has been on the Hollywood scene for more than 35 years, she considers 2024’s The Last Showgirl to be a fresh start. In the film, Anderson portrayed Shelly Gardner, a showgirl with three decades of experience performing at a club in Las Vegas. The role earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama at the 2025 Golden Globes.
“This is the beginning of my career,” she told Us Weekly at the 2024 Glamour Women of the Year Awards in October 2024. “I have a lot to do yet.”
She continued, “I wish I would have started my career a little bit sooner — gotten some movie roles sooner. But it was worth the wait.”
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