Pamela Anderson explains why she left Hollywood and moved to Canada

‘Baywatch’ star says she left Hollywood because she ‘didn’t want anything that had happened to me to define me’

Pamela Anderson has shared why she moved back to Canada, after spending years working in Hollywood.

The 57-year-old actor reflected on her decision to move to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2020 during a recent interview with Women’s Wear Daily (WWD). She explained that when she was at a point of rediscovering herself four years ago, she realized it was time for her to move home.

“I guess a homecoming, you could say, to really kind of look at my life and remember who I was – not what other people were telling me I was – and I didn’t want anything that had happened to me to define me. I wanted what I do to define me,” the Baywatch alum said.

Earlier this year, Anderson opened up about relocating to Canada at a time when she felt like she’d “given up” and “needed a change.”

“I thought, ‘Well, I guess that’s just what people think of me.’ I was not in a good space when I moved back to Canada,” she told Better Homes & Gardens in August. “I don’t know what happened over the last few decades, but I feel now so far removed from the image of who I was.”

She continued to describe how “sad and lonely” she was feeling before she first moved, adding: “I didn’t feel just misunderstood, I felt like I had really screwed up, that my whole life was a bundle of mistakes. I was hard on myself, and I thought I put my family through a lot and put my kids through so much.”

Pamela Anderson reflects on her decision to move to Canada from Hollywood in 2020 (Getty Images for SCAD)

Anderson – who shares two sons, Brandon, 28, and Dylan, 26, with ex-husband Tommy Lee  – explained that once she arrived to Canada, she “disappeared” into her garden. As she began building her outdoor space, Anderson said her garden became “a metaphor of putting my life back together.”

“I began planting seeds, and the smallest things became really profound,” she said.

Elsewhere during her interview with WWD, the former Playboy cover star opened up about being inspired by her rose garden to launch her skincare brand, Sonsie.

“I start each day when I’m home in my rose garden, so I felt, ‘How do I bring that with me?’” Anderson said. “I do make a rose hip oil, and I wanted to bring that into the skincare line.”

The model launched her skincare line in June 2023. Since then, she has been vocal about being comfortable in her own skin and walking several red carpets without makeup. In October last year, Anderson explained why she went makeup-free to Paris Fashion Week, asVogue France documented her getting ready for the Vivienne Westwood show.

“I didn’t come to Paris Fashion Week and think, ‘I’m not going to wear any makeup,’” she told the outlet. “I don’t know, something just kind of came over me. And I was just dressing in these beautiful clothes, and I thought, ‘I don’t want to compete with the clothes.’ I’m not trying to be the prettiest girl in the room.”

Anderson expressed that she’s continued to “challenge” the meaning of beauty by choosing not to wear makeup.

“If we all chase youth or we’re chasing our idea of what beauty is in fashion magazines and everything, we’re only going to be disappointed and maybe a little bit sad,” she added.