Where Is Pam Anderson Now? What the Former 'Baywatch' Babe Has Been Up to Since Her Pam and Tommy Days
Pam is always a VIP to us!
In the '90s, few female celebs were bigger than Pamela Anderson. For that, credit her longtime association with Playboy, her portrayal of "Tool Time Girl" Lisa on the Tim Allen-starring sitcom Home Improvement, and perhaps most significantly, her lead role as CJ on the hit TV show Baywatch, which followed the steamy (and cheesy) adventures of red swimsuit-clad lifeguards in sunny California.
Speaking to BaywatchTV.org in 2018, Anderson called that last gig "the best job in the world. I’m happy it’s still playing all over the world. The character is me. I feel like I went from Baywatch to where I am now. Everything is a blur in the middle."
A big reason for that blur? In the mid-'90s, Anderson became a devoted mother after welcoming sons Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger with first husband Tommy Lee. The marriage, as most celeb-watchers know, didn't last—in part because of their infamous sex tape, which was the subject of the Hulu miniseries, Pam and Tommy—but Anderson's decision to prioritize her kids over her career did.
"Nothing I attempted to do while the boys were growing could get my full attention," Anderson explained in that 2018 interview. "[I] always wanted to be at home. I wouldn’t miss a baseball game. My kids' schedules were in my contracts."
In the decades since, Anderson has continued to do things her way, taking on select projects and leaning into one of her biggest passions, animal rights. She's also weathered her fair share of romantic ups and downs along the way. Wondering what Anderson has been up to lately, personally and professionally? Here's what we know about what Pam Anderson's life is like now.
Related: The 'Brenaissance' Continues! Find Out About Brendan Fraser's Newest Gig
What is Pam Anderson doing now?
In the last few years, Anderson moved back to where she grew up, the small town of Ladysmith on Vancouver Island in Canada. That coincided with a decision in early 2021 to leave social media. "I've never been interested in social media," she wrote in a farewell Instagram post at the time. "And now that I'm settled into the life I'm genuinely inspired by, reading and being in nature, I am free. Thanks for the love. Blessings to you all. Let's hope you find the strength and inspiration to follow your purpose and try not to be seduced by wasted time."
Anderson has kept her promise to stay offline. However, she still shares her thoughts about issues she cares about, such as animal rights and Indigenous communities, via open letters to world leaders posted on the website of the Pamela Anderson Foundation. Founded in 2014, the nonprofit "supports organizations and individuals that stand on the front lines in the protection of human, animal, and environmental rights." In addition to activism, Anderson is still immersed in fashion. Among other things, she launched a line of vegan purses and bags made from apple skins with Ashoka Paris.
Related: How Much of Pam and Tommy Actually Happened? You Won't Believe Just How Wild the True Story Is
Is Pamela Anderson married?
No. In fact, just a couple of weeks before Pam and Tommy's release in 2022, Anderson became newly single again. On Jan. 20, 2022, PEOPLE confirmed that Anderson and her husband of about a year, Dan Hayhurst, had parted ways. The couple tied the knot on Christmas Eve 2020 on property once owned by Anderson's grandparents.
"This is where my parents were married and they are still together. I feel like I've come full circle," Anderson told The Daily Mail at the time. "I'm exactly where I need to be—in the arms of a man who truly loves me." That wasn't the only fairytale aspect of their romance: Hayhurst was Anderson's bodyguard, and the pair fell for each other during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.
Is Pam Anderson dating Julian Assange?
Prior to her marriage to Hayhurst, Anderson was rumored to be dating Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who's been charged with various crimes for leaking classified military documents. Although she visited him frequently at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he was staying, she was mum about their relationship status.
During a 2017 appearance on Good Morning Britain, when asked if she was in love with him, she responded, “In love with Julian? I love him, but I have a romantic partner.” However, when asked during the same appearance if the pair were just friends, she responded with something even more coy. “Isn’t it funny, everywhere I go I’m on a romantic adventure. We are friendly, yes—very friendly. I love Julian. He’s one of the most interesting people I have ever met."
In 2019, their relationship status still seemed unclear. “We all miss his voice. I miss his laugh, his mischievous smile and his curious and boy-like wonder,” she tweeted about him. “A uniquely strong and dedicated man.”
At the very least, Anderson is still publicly supporting Assange. She's known to promote The Courage Foundation, which defended him and other high-profile whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning. And in early 2021, she spoke out in his defense as he was facing extradition to the U.S. for espionage charges. “The case is simply a criminalization of a free press,” Anderson told The New York Post. “Julian is being charged with journalism. Documents that have exposed war crimes and human rights abuses. Now the U.S. wants to punish him for exposing crimes.”
Related: Did Pamela Anderson Really Give Away Her Sex Tape for Free?
Is Pamela Anderson still acting?
Anderson has mostly retreated from the stage and screen in recent years, preferring to live a quieter life. However, she appeared in Alone at Night, a "pandemic-inspired slasher movie" produced and starring actress Ashley Benson. Most notably, she had a star turn as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway.
It's understandable she's choosy about what acting roles she takes on. Although she did reprise her Baywatch role in the 2017 movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, she wasn't necessarily happy with the end results. “I didn’t like it,” she said about the film on a 2020 episode on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “Let’s just keep the bad TV as bad TV. That’s what’s charming about Baywatch, you know? Trying to make these movies out of television, is just messing with it."