Pamela Anderson on Her Year of ‘Happy Surprises’ in Movies, Romance and So Much More

Even though Pamela Anderson has been a redhead since early autumn, she says, “Sometimes I catch myself in the mirror and go, ‘Oh jeez. Who’s that?’” Even her mom told her, “This is going to take some getting used to.”

Not to worry, says Anderson, who made the change for her next role, in Love Is Not the Answer, a comedy directed by Michael Cera. “I’ll be blonde in no time or maybe a different color. Who knows?” 

She calls her transformation “another form of freedom” — the latest surprise in a year that was full of them, from her performance in The Last Showgirl and the summer box office hit The Naked Gun to her much written about romance with costar Liam Neeson.

“I’m making the choices in my career and the way I look,” says the 58-year-old mom of sons Brandon, 29, and Dylan, 27, with rocker ex Tommy Lee. “I’m in control of my own life.” Soft-spoken and playful, she says, “Even sitting here I’m thinking, has this really happened, or did I dream all of this?” 

Much has changed in hers since 2023, when she began reclaiming her story in her bestselling memoir Love, Pamela and a documentary, Pamela, A Love Story. In both, she revealed a woman longing to be seen for herself and not her persona or her love life, notably her tumultuous relationship with Lee. She has yet to watch the documentary in full. “I could watch a little bit of it, and then I’m in tears,” she says. “Some things you move on from.”

She flipped the script again with her decision to go makeup-free at Paris Fashion Week in 2023. “I remember thinking, ‘Nobody’s even going to notice’ — and people noticed. [Former French Vogue editor] Carine Roitfeld came up to me. She said, ‘I like what you’re doing.’ And I was like, ‘What am I doing?’ ” 

It was all part of “peeling back the layers,” says the star and founder of Sonsie skincare. “I look like my Instagram photos every day. That’s where it stemmed from, I have all these young women in my life, my sons’ girlfriends, my nieces. I just want to make sure that they feel confident in who they are . . . and to not worry so much. Believe me, it’s a practice.”

She’s still surprised by the response. “People come to me with their daughters and say, ‘Thank you so much for doing this,’ ” says Anderson, who recently partnered with Biolage haircare as their latest ambassador. “I’m glad that it had an impact. Who would have thought I would be that girl?”  

After all, her blonde knockout image made her a phenomenon on projects like Baywatch. Still, she notes, there was more to the nineties roles she became famous for. “There’s always been a vulnerability and a humanness and making mistakes and embracing life, and being in love, and heartbroken, all those things that make you human,” she says.  Nonetheless, she calls it “the ancient past” and adds with a laugh, “That girl is dead. It feels like a lifetime ago.” 

Her nuanced performance in The Last Showgirl as a vulnerable Vegas dancer was a dream come true. It might not have happened had director Gia Coppola not tracked down her son Brandon and given him the script after Anderson’s agent turned it down without telling her. (He’s no longer her agent.)

“I’d never been offered a good script,” she says. “To feel that feeling of ‘I’m the only one that could do this’ — I had that.”

Nominations for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award soon followed. “I never really felt a part of those rooms,” she says. “And I always felt a little insecure meeting other actors thinking . . . I’m capable of so much more.” She made that clear this summer with her turn in the Tennessee Williams play Casino Real at the prestigious Williamstown Theater Festival. Says director Dustin Wills, “Pam has a remarkable work ethic paired with an openness and curiosity…and on top of all that, she knows how to land a joke!”

She displayed her gift for over-the-top comedy in The Naked Gun remake opposite Neeson, 73. The two made headlines with news of their surprise romance — greeted with skepticism by some. Anderson is ready to set the record straight, sharing her memories of their private connection for the first time.

“If you must know, Liam and I were romantically involved for a short while but only after we finished filming” she says. The two spent an “intimate week” together at his home in upstate New York. “I had my own room,” she notes. “Our assistants both came; even family stopped by.”  

The pair “went to dinner at a tiny French restaurant where he introduced me as the ‘future Mrs. Neeson,’ ” she continues. They spent time in his garden, where, she says, “I tended to a rosebush overgrown with mint … I was happy to help, and he appreciated.”

Following what she calls their “lost week”—during which Neeson chased off a bear from the breakfast window in his bathrobe—“we went our separate ways to work on other films.” They reconnected while promoting The Naked Gun. “We were having fun,” she says, calling their connection “a little bit like a Nancy Meyers film. I always was laughing when people thought, ‘Oh, that’s a publicity stunt.’ I’m like, ‘A publicity stunt? This is real. We have real feelings.’ ” 

“I adore Liam,” she adds, “but we are better friends, in full honesty. He is such a supporter of this new trajectory in my career and kindly tells me he is very proud of me. I’m sure we will always be in each other’s lives.” 

Now, she and her sons have started a production company and are rebooting 1996’s cult classic Barb Wire into a new TV series. “I’m really excited to take that back,” she says. “It’s a bit of redemption.” While there are “no plans” for her to appear onscreen, she adds, “You never know. They talk me into anything.” And she beams when she talks about her sons: “The most important thing to me was my family, and my boys turned out great.” 

Anderson, who shares her musings on self discovery in her weekly Substack, The Open Journal, has more exciting new roles ahead, including playing the (gray-haired!) mom of a dysfunctional family in the upcoming Rosebush Pruning with Elle Fanning and Callum Turner. “Let’s just hope this is just the beginning,” she says. “I’m ready for action and have this whole new inspiration and love of this industry—and life!” she says. “It’s a rebel move to be happy.” 

This article was written independently by PEOPLE’s editorial team and meets our editorial standards. Biolage is a paid advertising partner with PEOPLE.