Pamela Anderson Says Her '90s Playboy Image Was a 'Cartoon Character': 'I'm Not That Person Anymore'

The 57-year-old opened up about reinventing herself and her choice to go makeup-free in a new cover story for 'Better Homes & Gardens'

Pamela Anderson is embracing a new beauty philosophy.

The 57-year-old actress and activist rose to fame as a Playboy model and star of the TV series Baywatch and became widely regarded as a sex symbol. However, in recent years, Anderson has opted for a more pared-back look, trading her signature smoky eyes and overlined lips for a makeup-free lifestyle.

In a new cover interview with Better Homes & Gardens, the star opened up about her choice to take a step back from Hollywood and shed her previous persona.

"That was the beginning of me letting go of the image I had always had of myself," she told the outlet of her headline-making appearance at Paris Fashion Week in 2023, where she first went sans makeup. "What is this cartoon character that I’d created? OK, that was fun. But I’m not that person anymore."

Anderson also shared that she wanted to "challenge the idea of beauty and this mask we put on" but "didn't think anyone would even notice" her choice to go bare-faced.

Related: Every Time Pamela Anderson Went Makeup-Free

"As soon as I took the mask off, the whole world opened up," she recalled. "It just happened to be this silly thing of being at Paris Fashion Week and me saying, 'I’m not going to sit in a makeup chair for three hours. I’m going to the Louvre.' Then I thought, Who am I competing with? I was appreciating it as this girl who lives on Vancouver Island that got plopped into these glamorous clothes. And I felt like this little freckle-faced kid with a big, beautiful Vivienne Westwood hat on."

Since moving back to her native Canada, Anderson has adopted a slower-paced lifestyle. She's released a skincare line, Sonsie, and authored an upcoming cookbook that focuses on plant-based recipes.

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"People have this pneumatic kind of image of me from Playboy to Baywatch, to my rock ’n’ roll type of husbands, to everything else," she told Better Homes & Gardens. "And as much as I threw every dinner party and cooked all those meals for family and my kids, it wasn’t what was seen publicly. But I also played into the image that was created around me."

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She continued, "I’m glad I did all that, but I’m really glad I’m where I am now. I think the most important part is, I made it through all of it. And now it’s such a relief that I get to be myself and enjoy this time."

Better Homes & Gardens' Stylemaker Issue featuring Anderson hits newsstands on Friday, Aug. 23.

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