In 2019, Pamela Anderson began phasing out makeup, following the death of her longtime makeup artist Alexis Vogel. That decision, however, didn't become public until 2023 when she made a now-viral appearance at Paris Fashion Week – and she tells HELLO! that, two years on, she is still surprised by the "stir" that she caused.
"It's kind of funny," she said. "I didn't realize that I would cause such a stir or that anyone would even notice, so it's a happy surprise."
Pamela was known in the public consciousness for her sex symbol looks, bleached blonde hair, heavy glam make-up, and daring fashion. However, she has since revealed that the image the public had of her was in fact a "cartoonish character" with which she played along.
"All of this has been a big surprise," she told HELLO! at the 2026 WWD Style Awards held at the Regent Santa Monica Beach. "These last few years have been full of surprises for me, so I'm just enjoying it – and enjoying when people come up to me and talk to me about how happy they are that I am [inspiring] their daughters. I didn't think that I'd be that."
The 58-year-old retired from the spotlight in 2019, but returned in 2022 when she made her Broadway debut playing Roxie Hart in Chicago, and her documentary Pamela, A Love Story and autobiography, Love, Pamela, became global successes, garnering her an Emmy nomination.
In 2024 she returned to acting with a role in Gia Coppola's The Last Showgirl, calling it "the role I have been waiting for my entire career – and went on to receive her first major industry acting nominations with the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild.
"I am much more comfortable in my own skin, but I also am in an industry that really focuses on beauty. And I thought, 'I'm going to challenge beauty,'" she told the Today Show in 2023.
"I think challenging ourselves is what keeps us young and beautiful. And I think, really genuinely, beauty does come from within, and you don’t have to play the game."
Her The Last Showgirl co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, praised the "act of courage," writing on social media: "THE NATURAL BEAUTY REVOLUTION HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN! @pamelaanderson in the middle of fashion week with so many pressures and postures, and and and, this woman showed up and claimed her seat at the table with nothing on her face.
"I am so impressed and floored by this act of courage and rebellion."