Pamela Anderson, 56, laughs at her aging appearance: ‘What’s happening to me?’

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Pamela Anderson was barely 20 years old when she was discovered by a beer brand at a football game in Vancouver.

It didn't take her long to become a household name, and now, nearly 35 years later, life looks very different for her than it did back then – so different, in fact, that she says she laughs at herself when she looks in the mirror.

Anderson spoke about the shift from her iconic, wild '90s fashion sense to her current, more minimalist tastes in an interview with Elle. She said the change has been "freeing and fun, and a little rebellious, too. Because I did notice that there were all these people doing big makeup looks, and it’s just like me to go against the grain and do the opposite what everyone’s doing."

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Pamela Anderson in 1991, left, and in 2023. (Ron Galella Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images | Monica Schipper)

"I think we all start looking a little funny when we get older," she continued. "And I’m kind of laughing at myself when I look at the mirror. I go, ‘Wow, this is really ... what’s happening to me?’ It’s a journey."

In the interview, Anderson promoted her new fashion campaign for Canadian clothing brand Aritzia. The collection features subtle business basics like a gray menswear-inspired suit jacket and a classic calf-length black dress – a far cry from the signature style she became known for in her heyday.

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"When I was younger, I never thought that I would be in any campaigns, especially really recognizable ones," she said. "I always felt like I was an outsider, a little bit rebellious. So, I’m laughing to myself, going, ‘Wow, I feel really in the zone and accepted by my peers lately.’"

Speaking about her affinity for the brand and this particular collection, she said, "I come from people who were struggling to make ends meet sometimes. I always say, ‘Money can’t buy taste.’ When you see someone head to toe in [runway] designs, you’re just like, ‘Well, that’s easy.’ But Vivienne Westwood was the first one to tell me, ‘Buy one thing a year. Don’t buy a lot of stuff.’"

Pamela Anderson poses for a portrait on Catalina Island, California, during filming for "Baywatch" in October 1992. (Eddie Sanderson/Getty Images)

While the Anderson of 2023 may appreciate these kinds of understated looks, the Anderson of the '90s was "wild and uninhibited."

"I don’t know if it was a defense mechanism or what. I just thought, ‘I’m going to have fun,’" she told the outlet.

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Anderson recalled that back then she often wore "the makeup from the day before and a little bit of glitter from two nights before. The stuff that never leaves you. I’d be volunteering at the kids’ school, and I would catch myself in a reflection, and I’d have glitter all over my face."

Pamela Anderson told Elle that "we all start looking a little funny when we get older." (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

"Which doesn’t make you a bad mom, just because you’re covered in glitter," she added.

Another thing she liked to wear was costumes from acting projects. When talking about "V.I.P.," the series she starred in during the late '90s and early 2000s, she said, "I would go out after work still wearing the outfit."

"I remember Tommy [Lee] and I would just be like, ‘What can we wear that’s fun and crazy?’ I remember going to the Oscars in a jean miniskirt with a D-Pimp necklace and tied shirt next to Elizabeth Hurley in this long Versace gown."

Pamela Anderson and Elizabeth Hurley at the 2001 VMAs. (KMazur/WireImage | Frederick M. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

She continued, "Now, it’s all so calculated. And these are the looks that we’re inspired by now because we lack that. We want that uniqueness. I never thought that those looks we threw together would be on mood boards."

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Because of those kinds of looks, and because of the kinds of roles she was known for playing, Anderson has long been considered to be more beauty than brains – something she definitively denies.

"That was a great expression that Suzanne Somers told me," she recalled. "She used to always say, ‘Hi, dumb blonde.’ Meanwhile, she’s a gazillionaire doing all these great things. … I always thought it was fun to not have anything to live up to because you could only surprise people."

Pamela Anderson says her style now is much more tame than it was in the '90s. (Arturo Holmes)

"So, it was to my advantage sometimes ... and if people didn’t want to look at you as an intelligent person because you looked a certain way, I think we’ve grown past that, hopefully."

Despite any preconceived notions the public may have of her, and despite how many changes her life has undergone, Anderson said that these days, she's thriving.

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"I feel rooted for. I feel good. I’m in a good place."