Even without makeup, Pamela Anderson is one of the most recognizable celebrities on the planet. The beautiful and buxom blonde made waves in the 1990s through the TV series “Baywatch,” as well as an online sex tape with then-husband, musician Tommy Lee.
But while her fame rose to stratospheric heights, her paychecks didn’t follow suit.
In fact, by 2012, the state of California had listed Anderson among its Top 500 Delinquent Taxpayers for the $524,241 she owed in unpaid state and federal income taxes — and seemingly couldn’t afford.
Ryan White, the director of her 2023 Netflix documentary “Pamela, A Love Story,” revealed that Anderson used to joke about how often her credit cards were declined, and that she had spent most of her career in debt.
Thankfully, these days, the Canadian-American actress, model, and animal rights activist has gotten herself on sounder financial footing, only to find her name in the headlines again — but this time, it’s for her role in “The Last Showgirl,” a 2024 film directed by Gia Coppola that is already earning Oscar buzz. She has already received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
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And while Forbes says that earning an Academy Award often spells more lucrative future roles for actors, the 57-year-old seems like she could care less.
Anderson is currently living thousands of miles away from Hollywood on an island off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, at the century-old farm that once belonged to her grandmother. She spends each day “humbly” by walking her dogs and doing the laundry.
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What is Pamela Anderson’s net worth?
Forbes hasn’t covered Anderson’s fortune, so we turned instead to Celebrity Net Worth, which uses data from public sources, as well as “tips and feedback” to compile its estimates, although specifics are decidedly vague.
The website lists Anderson’s net worth at $20 million as of December 2024, citing a mix of her real estate holdings as well as her earnings from her peak time on “Baywatch.”
Many of the deals Anderson signed simply took her star power for granted, often exploiting her without due compensation, either from contracts or royalties, so we took a look at how much wealth Anderson could have amassed, had she been paid fairly.
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How much did Anderson make on “Baywatch?”
When “Baywatch” was syndicated, Anderson’s portrayal of lifeguard Casey Jean “C.J.” Parker proved to be so popular with global audiences that international broadcasters only wanted to purchase the 77 episodes she appeared in (there were 241 episodes in total).
Anderson first donned the red swimsuit on September 12, 1992, but made just $1,500 per episode in her first season. Near the end of the series, Anderson was receiving $300,000 per episode, which was a welcome boost — but far less than the earnings of some of the show’s other stars, like David Hasselhoff.
Hasselhoff also held credits as a producer and had an ownership stake that exponentially increased his wealth when the series was licensed to Amazon (AMZN) in 2019. (According to court filings from Pamela Bach, Hasselhoff’s ex-wife, his net worth at one time topped $120 million.)
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“She was definitely being taken advantage of,” Anderson’s son, Brandon Lee, told Variety. “And it still feels weird how there hasn’t been some sort of discussion with Amazon or the ‘Baywatch’ producers to get her fair share.”
How much did Pam Anderson make from her sex tape with Tommy Lee?
After dating for just 4 days, Anderson married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee on a beach in Cancun on February 19, 1995. They filmed a sex tape during their honeymoon and kept it locked away privately in a safe in their garage — until Rand Gauthier, a disgruntled electrician who had worked on the couple’s Malibu home remodel but never received payment, stole their safe, watched the video, and put it on the internet for all the world to see.
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According to Rolling Stone, sales of the tape amounted to $77 million in its first year alone, although Anderson didn't see a cent of this.
Anderson and Lee sued Internet Entertainment Group, the company that distributed the stolen footage without their permission, but Anderson later dismissed the case, citing the tremendous stress it was causing her, as she was seven months pregnant at the time.
Lee also did not make any money from the tape, although he has more wealth than his ex-wife, even though he served time in prison for beating her. (According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mötley Crüe album sales attributed to Lee’s $70 million bottom line.)
How much did Pam Anderson make from “Playboy?”
You’d think you’d get a lot of money for appearing naked on the cover of a global publication like Playboy, whose annual revenues peaked at $350 million around 2000, near the height of Anderson’s modeling career.
However, according to Wikipedia, Playmates only receive a paltry $25,000 in compensation.
That means that while Anderson held the record for most Playboy covers at 13, she only earned a total of $325,000 from the magazine — and kept just a portion of that for herself.
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In 2010, The New York Post reported that Anderson donated 100% of her “Playboy” fee that year to a relief agency that delivered clean drinking water to disaster areas, along the way spurring dissent from Islamic groups, which considered nudity indecent.
Pamela Anderson’s real estate portfolio
Thankfully, Anderson has fared better when it comes to owning property.
In 2021, Anderson sold her Malibu beach house for $11.8 million, minting a $10 million profit along the way. She had purchased the Philip Vertoch-designed home in 2001; it featured private access to one of Malibu’s most exclusive beaches, a guest house, rooftop deck, pool, and spa.
In 2022, Anderson’s sons, Brandon and Dylan, sold Anderson’s second home, a five-bedroom, 2,634-square-foot residence near Las Flores Beach, Calif., in order to relocate to Vancouver with their mother. The home included modern living spaces and an open-plan kitchen and fetched $2.9 million.
While it’s unclear how much Anderson’s Canadian property is worth, it sits on six acres in Ladysmith, a town on Vancouver Island, and has a 5,000-square-foot vegetable garden. It even had its own starring role on the 2022 HGTV Canada renovation series Anderson made entitled “Pamela’s Garden of Eden.”
Anderson admitted that she had neglected the property for several years after the death of her grandmother before returning to it in 2019. She told The Vancouver Sun “I always knew if I had this place, I would keep a little bit of my sanity and a little bit of my feet on the ground.”
Pamela Anderson's endorsements
Despite being neighbors with Ruth Handler, the creator of the Barbie doll, Anderson said she was paid nothing for the C.J. Parker Barbie that was produced by Mattel in 1994.
In addition, Anderson was the face of Smashbox Cosmetics in the 1990s, where she thankfully received more compensation, although the specific amount is unknown. In 2024, she inked another deal with the beauty brand, launching a line of minimalist makeup entitled “Isn’t It Iconic?”
A vegan since her 20s, Anderson also co-owns the vegan clean beauty line Sonsie.
Pamela Anderson’s other income streams
Anderson has made frequent film and TV appearances, ranging from everything from a 3-day stint on the Indian edition of “Big Brother,” where she reportedly made $555,000, to appearances on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “The Hills,” and “Saturday Night Live.”
She has also starred in films like “Barb Wire” and TV series like “Stacked,” “V.I.P.,” and “Home Improvement.”
In addition, she has authored four books:
- “I Love You: Recipes from the Heart (A Cookbook)” (Voracious, 2024)
- “Love, Pamela” (HarperCollins, 2023)
- “Star Struck” (Atria Books, 2005)
- “Star: A Novel” (Atria Books, 2004)
In a 2023 interview with “Variety,” film producer Jon Peters (also Anderson’s ex-husband), revealed he left her $10 million in his will "whether she needs it or not." Their marriage, which was Anderson’s fifth, lasted just 12 days.
How did Pamela Anderson become famous?
Anderson’s dramatic life seems like it came from a TV script, full of lofty highs and crushing lows, including violence and abuse.
Born on July 1, 1967, Pamela Denise Anderson was basically in the spotlight from day one, since she was a “Centennial Baby” born on the 100th anniversary of Canada’s founding.
Her father, Barry Anderson, was a furnace repairman who was also an alcoholic. She often recalled seeing her mother, Carol, a waitress, crying.
Anderson endured abuse from a babysitter as a child and was raped at age 12. In high school, she was gang raped by her first boyfriend and six of his friends. It was then she realized that humanity is suffering, and the primary solace she could receive was from animals, whom she counted as “her only real friends” until she had children.
She had her first brush with fame at a B.C. Lions football game wearing a cutoff Labatt Beer t-shirt. The crowd cheered for her so loudly that she was invited onto the field, and Labatt offered her a job.
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Pamela Anderson’s personal life
Anderson has dated everyone from Swedish model Marcus Schenkenberg to Poison frontman Bret Michaels to Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange.
She has had five husbands, although she’s actually been married more times than that (she married, divorced, and remarried Rick Salomon):
- Drummer Tommy Lee (1995–1998)
- Singer Kid Rock (2006–2007)
- Poker Player Rick Salomon (2007–2008 and 2014–2015)
- Producer Jon Peters (2020)
- Bodyguard Dan Hayhurst (2020–2022)
Today, Anderson embraces being single, having gained both confidence and self-love along the way. “I think diamonds are really great gifts, but I think that if you can give them to yourself? That's empowering,” she told People Magazine.
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