Sex symbol, Playboy Playmate, animal activist, vegan, breast implant enthusiast, and hepatitis C sufferer, Pamela Anderson has done it all. And we, as loyal viewers and fans, have been lucky enough to bear witness. She burst onto the scene in 1990 within the glossy pages of Hugh Hefner's magazine and all of our lives clearly have not been the same since. Pam subsequently found a home on television, in movies, in video games, and among adult film aficionados' (and simple curiosity-seekers') private collections. It's been a wild ride for us all with Pam in the driver's seat, and here we rank the highs and lows of her ample career.
No. 10 - "Barb Wire" (1996)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson barb wire]()
In "Barb Wire," Pam takes on Humphrey Bogart and ultimately falls hard. This graphic novel approach to "Casablanca" seemed like the perfect springboard from the lifeguard tower of "Baywatch" to the ivory tower of film, but instead turned out to be one big belly flop. The critics did not have kind words to say about her performance and the movie received more Raspberries than a Jamba Juice smoothie. Even her large breasts earned a Worst Screen Couple Award. Now that just crosses the line! To make punching bags out of her gorgeous golden globes goes way too far, even for cold-blooded Hollywood.
No. 9 - "Scary Movie 3" (2003)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson scary movie 3]()
"Scary Movie 3" makes admirable use of Anderson and even more admirable use of her large breasts. Taking on the franchise's infamous opening scene, she and Jenny McCarthy have somehow been cast here as dumb blondes. And though there is little scary or suspenseful about these first few minutes -- or funny, astute moviegoers might add -- there are jokes about Pam's sex tape, a lot of cleavage, and a random catfight culminating in a supreme wedgie. Then Pam takes off her shirt to reveal a very full bra and all is right with the world.
No. 8 - "V.I.P." (1998-2002)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson v.i.p.]()
Having thoroughly tackled the world of lifeguards in "Baywatch," it was logical that Pam's next foray into television would be the portrayal of a private eye. A reluctant one, it turns out, as Vallery Irons in the syndicated series "V.I.P." Guest appearances by Jay Leno, Paul McCartney and Alfonso Ribeiro confirmed her celebrity clout (well, maybe not Alfonso Ribeiro), and its four-year run proved what everyone already knew -- that Pam Anderson was a true pop culture commodity.
No. 7 - "Stripperella" (2003-2004)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson stripperella]()
On television, there has always been frustratingly few options of hot female cartoon characters. Wonder Woman certainly and maybe Scooby-Doo's Daphne. Pam changed all that in 2003 voicing the titular character in the Stan Lee created "Stripperella." Stripper by night, superhero and spy by late night, the risqué cartoon was good, silly fun with lots of animated skin. Unfortunately, creative differences and a lawsuit kept it to only one season, preventing the series from fully taking off.
No. 6 - "Home Improvement" (1991-1993)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson home improvement]()
Before the proliferation of home improvement shows on television, there was "Home Improvement," ABC's family-friendly hit sitcom featuring the most SFW role Pamela Anderson has played to date. She didn't have much screen time as Lisa the Tool Time Girl, but she was a series regular and maybe in retrospect everyone was better off that the lines of dialogue she was given were few. Not to say her contribution to viewership wasn't large. We suspect that during her two seasons with the show, she was the one reason its male audience mostly chose to tune in.
No. 5 - "Miserable" (1999)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson lit music video]()
As a star, Pam's wattage is big. But never has she been bigger onscreen than in Lit's music video, "Miserable." At its start, we see Pam, looking amazing, lying on her stomach -- a giant, with Liliputian-sized band members performing their superlative song on top of her. A pleasing experience for all, it seems, despite its title, especially since this Herculean version of Lady Anderson is clad only in a skimpy sports bikini. But as "Miserable's" driving riffs push forward, Pam gets up to dance and then eat the miniature musicians alive one by one in a single, bloodless gulp. There are worse ways to go, and unlike "Schindler's List" or the new "Unbroken," thanks to her appearance, we can watch this tragic tale over and over and over again.
No. 4 - "Dancing with the Stars, Season 10" (2010)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson dancing with the stars]()
She didn't take home the Mirrorball Prize, but she held on for a while and impressed audiences with her endurance and ability. Pam was finally more than a bombshell here; she was a dancer. And one you rooted for, perhaps more than ever before. Not only did she outlast an astronaut in Season 10's installment of the reality juggernaut -- granted he was around 80 years old at the time -- she also left wannabe TV goddess Shannon Doherty in her dust.
No. 3 - "Borat" (2006)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson borat]()
It only makes sense that in the greatest comedy to come around in a long time, the object of the main character's desire is Pamela Anderson. Unlike the millions of men and women around the world who earnestly want to make her theirs, though, our clueless but well-intentioned Kazakhstani hero actually goes about tracking her down. And in "Borat's" truly amazing climax, he does and gets very close to making her his own. But as her screen resume thus far has taught us, Pam is no victim. Regardless of this foreigner's large stature, offensive attempt to seize her, and the colorful allure of the marriage sack she'd be stuffed in, she refuses to be taken and her quick wits, legs, and a posse of agile OC Virgin Records security guards aid in her escape. A larger metaphor perhaps is that Pam Anderson is her own woman who can protect herself and can't be contained by anyone, not even a charming, lovestruck journalist who is not above a random, naked, public man-on-man brawl in a hotel banquet room.
No. 2 - "Pam and Tommy Lee - Hardcore and Uncensored" (1997)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson tommy lee]()
"Pam and Tommy Lee - Hardcore and Uncensored" is the Holy Bible of sex tapes. Stolen from Pam and (then husband) Tommy Lee's home in a brazen early morning burglary, the tape and controversy came about during the dawn of the Internet and even may have helped accelerate its rise. Though it only contains about 8 minutes of actual sex, with around 50 minutes of the couple just having fun and being in love, it no doubt became a defining moment in the history of adult film.
At some point in our lives, we all have imagined what it must be like to have sex with Pam Anderson. Here we no longer needed to, it was right before our eyes, and every reason to curse Tommy Lee's name. For within the video's frames he is banging everyone's fantasy girl, with an endowment that could choke a tractor, and he even vacations better than most of us ever will. Yet somehow, with naked proof that Pam is the dirty girl she always appeared to be, our love and affection for her never once waned.
No. 1 - "Baywatch" (1992-1997)
![pamela anderson, pamela anderson filmography, pamela anderson baywatch]()
Next to "The Sopranos" and "Breaking Bad," "Baywatch" was perhaps the greatest hour-long series ever to air on television. And not only did it launch Pamela Anderson's career, it showed her running in slow motion in a tight bathing suit week after week. Her C.J. Parker character practiced New Age philosophy which could have been more warmly remembered today had her rocking bod not been so damn distracting. In each episode, the sharks and explosive devices and earthquakes that consume most real lifeguards' workdays were made even more exciting under C.J.'s protective watch. And the trade's accessory of rescue cans were given a whole new meaning.
No. 10 - "Barb Wire" (1996)
In "Barb Wire," Pam takes on Humphrey Bogart and ultimately falls hard. This graphic novel approach to "Casablanca" seemed like the perfect springboard from the lifeguard tower of "Baywatch" to the ivory tower of film, but instead turned out to be one big belly flop. The critics did not have kind words to say about her performance and the movie received more Raspberries than a Jamba Juice smoothie. Even her large breasts earned a Worst Screen Couple Award. Now that just crosses the line! To make punching bags out of her gorgeous golden globes goes way too far, even for cold-blooded Hollywood.
No. 9 - "Scary Movie 3" (2003)
"Scary Movie 3" makes admirable use of Anderson and even more admirable use of her large breasts. Taking on the franchise's infamous opening scene, she and Jenny McCarthy have somehow been cast here as dumb blondes. And though there is little scary or suspenseful about these first few minutes -- or funny, astute moviegoers might add -- there are jokes about Pam's sex tape, a lot of cleavage, and a random catfight culminating in a supreme wedgie. Then Pam takes off her shirt to reveal a very full bra and all is right with the world.
No. 8 - "V.I.P." (1998-2002)
Having thoroughly tackled the world of lifeguards in "Baywatch," it was logical that Pam's next foray into television would be the portrayal of a private eye. A reluctant one, it turns out, as Vallery Irons in the syndicated series "V.I.P." Guest appearances by Jay Leno, Paul McCartney and Alfonso Ribeiro confirmed her celebrity clout (well, maybe not Alfonso Ribeiro), and its four-year run proved what everyone already knew -- that Pam Anderson was a true pop culture commodity.
No. 7 - "Stripperella" (2003-2004)
On television, there has always been frustratingly few options of hot female cartoon characters. Wonder Woman certainly and maybe Scooby-Doo's Daphne. Pam changed all that in 2003 voicing the titular character in the Stan Lee created "Stripperella." Stripper by night, superhero and spy by late night, the risqué cartoon was good, silly fun with lots of animated skin. Unfortunately, creative differences and a lawsuit kept it to only one season, preventing the series from fully taking off.
No. 6 - "Home Improvement" (1991-1993)
Before the proliferation of home improvement shows on television, there was "Home Improvement," ABC's family-friendly hit sitcom featuring the most SFW role Pamela Anderson has played to date. She didn't have much screen time as Lisa the Tool Time Girl, but she was a series regular and maybe in retrospect everyone was better off that the lines of dialogue she was given were few. Not to say her contribution to viewership wasn't large. We suspect that during her two seasons with the show, she was the one reason its male audience mostly chose to tune in.
No. 5 - "Miserable" (1999)
As a star, Pam's wattage is big. But never has she been bigger onscreen than in Lit's music video, "Miserable." At its start, we see Pam, looking amazing, lying on her stomach -- a giant, with Liliputian-sized band members performing their superlative song on top of her. A pleasing experience for all, it seems, despite its title, especially since this Herculean version of Lady Anderson is clad only in a skimpy sports bikini. But as "Miserable's" driving riffs push forward, Pam gets up to dance and then eat the miniature musicians alive one by one in a single, bloodless gulp. There are worse ways to go, and unlike "Schindler's List" or the new "Unbroken," thanks to her appearance, we can watch this tragic tale over and over and over again.
No. 4 - "Dancing with the Stars, Season 10" (2010)
She didn't take home the Mirrorball Prize, but she held on for a while and impressed audiences with her endurance and ability. Pam was finally more than a bombshell here; she was a dancer. And one you rooted for, perhaps more than ever before. Not only did she outlast an astronaut in Season 10's installment of the reality juggernaut -- granted he was around 80 years old at the time -- she also left wannabe TV goddess Shannon Doherty in her dust.
No. 3 - "Borat" (2006)
It only makes sense that in the greatest comedy to come around in a long time, the object of the main character's desire is Pamela Anderson. Unlike the millions of men and women around the world who earnestly want to make her theirs, though, our clueless but well-intentioned Kazakhstani hero actually goes about tracking her down. And in "Borat's" truly amazing climax, he does and gets very close to making her his own. But as her screen resume thus far has taught us, Pam is no victim. Regardless of this foreigner's large stature, offensive attempt to seize her, and the colorful allure of the marriage sack she'd be stuffed in, she refuses to be taken and her quick wits, legs, and a posse of agile OC Virgin Records security guards aid in her escape. A larger metaphor perhaps is that Pam Anderson is her own woman who can protect herself and can't be contained by anyone, not even a charming, lovestruck journalist who is not above a random, naked, public man-on-man brawl in a hotel banquet room.
No. 2 - "Pam and Tommy Lee - Hardcore and Uncensored" (1997)
"Pam and Tommy Lee - Hardcore and Uncensored" is the Holy Bible of sex tapes. Stolen from Pam and (then husband) Tommy Lee's home in a brazen early morning burglary, the tape and controversy came about during the dawn of the Internet and even may have helped accelerate its rise. Though it only contains about 8 minutes of actual sex, with around 50 minutes of the couple just having fun and being in love, it no doubt became a defining moment in the history of adult film.
At some point in our lives, we all have imagined what it must be like to have sex with Pam Anderson. Here we no longer needed to, it was right before our eyes, and every reason to curse Tommy Lee's name. For within the video's frames he is banging everyone's fantasy girl, with an endowment that could choke a tractor, and he even vacations better than most of us ever will. Yet somehow, with naked proof that Pam is the dirty girl she always appeared to be, our love and affection for her never once waned.
No. 1 - "Baywatch" (1992-1997)
Next to "The Sopranos" and "Breaking Bad," "Baywatch" was perhaps the greatest hour-long series ever to air on television. And not only did it launch Pamela Anderson's career, it showed her running in slow motion in a tight bathing suit week after week. Her C.J. Parker character practiced New Age philosophy which could have been more warmly remembered today had her rocking bod not been so damn distracting. In each episode, the sharks and explosive devices and earthquakes that consume most real lifeguards' workdays were made even more exciting under C.J.'s protective watch. And the trade's accessory of rescue cans were given a whole new meaning.