'I asked Pamela Anderson what her life really looks like now. Her honest answers surprised me.'

Pamela Anderson is the happiest she's ever been, and she wants everyone to know it.

The 55-year-old actress, activist, and author, who is not active on social media and rarely makes public appearances, has moved far beyond the world she used to live in (literally). To become what she would agree is the best version of herself.

In July 2019, Anderson moved back to her family home in Ladysmith, a small town on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, after spending a couple of years living in the South of France.

The property belonged to her grandmother; and more than two decades ago, Anderson bought it from her in order to keep it in the family and one day renovate it.

"It was the first place I ever lived," the actress told Mamamia over the phone, explaining how she was born on the six-acre property and her parents both still live there.

"There were so many times that I almost lost it. Where I didn't think I could financially afford to keep it; but I hung on to it tooth and nail," she said.

Anderson was famously "discovered" in 1989, when a cameraman at a Canadian football game she was attending broadcast her image on the stadium’s large-scale screens.

Her life as a public figure began soon after. A few months later, she landed the cover of Playboy magazine, and in 1990, she became Playmate of the Month in their February issue.

Her acting career and more Playboy covers soon followed.

Pamela Anderson at a charity baseball game in 1992. Image: Getty.

Anderson returned to her hometown because her father Barry had a stroke in 2019.

She had planned on only visiting, but after seeing her father (he later made a full recovery), she realised she needed to be closer to her parents in their older years.

"My father said one of the things he wanted for me was to just do something with this property." 

So she did.

Before her memoir and documentary come out in the new year, Anderson's latest project is a home renovation show called Pamela's Garden of Eden.

"I thought I was retired but I guess I'm not," she laughed.

The Canadian actress explained how she returned to Vancouver Island "tired, exhausted, and kind of beaten down", but now feels "20 years younger".

"I always kept this place knowing I had [somewhere] to go to, because, you know, that industry, it's a whirlwind. You need to have some grounding," she told me.

"And [this property and project is] what saved me."

After moving from Vancouver to Los Angeles, Anderson landed a minor role on the comedy series Home Improvement. 

After two seasons, she won the role of C. J. Parker on Baywatch - the character she became most well-known for. She played the lifeguard from 1992 to 1997.

Pamela Anderson as C. J. Parker. Image: NBC.

Personally, Anderson has been married five times - famously to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee from 1995 to 1998. They have two sons, Brandon, now 26, and Dylan, now 24.

It's her two boys who insist people have the wrong idea about her.

"My kids are like 'People don't know you, Mum', 'They don't understand that you're such a homemaker and such a gardener and all these things'," she told me.

Speaking of her sons, the actress said: "My kids are my favourite people in the world."

"Brandon (who appeared on the sequel of MTV's The Hills) is very fiery, he speaks his mind. He's got this wild spirit and is a really fierce businessperson," the 55-year-old said.

"And then Dylan is more quiet, he's my Zen guy. But he's a musician too."

Her sons live together in a house they bought in LA, and Anderson sees them often.

"We have the greatest relationship," she said.

"It's incredible to watch them as young men, and they're stepping in so much to helping design this place. Because really, I'm doing it for them."

"I want to have a place where they can come visit with their families, their kids, and my grandkids," she added.

Pamela Anderson with her sons on the opening night of Chicago in April 2022. Image: Getty.

Anderson admits that returning to where she grew up has been emotional.

"It's been really triggering," she said.

"I've been all over the world and I always planned on coming back here. But when you actually do, you realise, I had this life," she said, speaking about how different the small town of approximately 8,500 people is compared to LA.

The actress noted the squeaks on the floor are in the exact same spots as they were decades ago.

"It's emotionally loaded from top to bottom. But it's good, it's brave [and] it's very healing," she said.

Despite being hands-on throughout the whole project, the actress has no intentions of watching Pamela's Garden of Eden. 

In fact, she chooses not to watch anything she's in.

"I prefer not to, because the times that I have, I'm just so hard on myself," she told me.

"I just feel like, you're never satisfied it seems. I'm not on social media... I don't want to chase youth, you know? I don't want to chase it. I just want to be myself," she said.

"And I think I'm finally comfortable in my own skin."

Image: Supplied.

At the time of writing, there are only two posts on Anderson's Instagram account: the announcement about her upcoming Netflix documentary, and her 2023 memoir, Love, Pamela.

The actress also recently made her Broadway debut, playing Roxie Hart in the Broadway production of Chicago.

"I'm refuelled, I'm busy, there are just great things going on," Anderson said about her latest projects.

"I didn't know that I was going to end up being this happy at this point in my life," she said.

"Because a couple of years ago, it was a different story."

You can watch the first episode of Pamela's Garden of Eden on Thursday, November 3 from 1.30pm AEDT on FOXTEL and available On Demand.

Watch the trailer here:

Charlie Begg is Mamamia's lifestyle writer. For more homewares, fashion and TV recommendations, follow her on Instagram. 

Feature image: Getty.