Sam Amico
Most people think of Pamela Anderson and think of Baywatch.
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Or perhaps her intense and often rocky marriage to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee back in the 1990s — the basis for the Pam & Tommy docuseries on Hulu.
And die-hards may even know her from her starring role in Barbed Wire, the 1996 film that most critics would describe as laughably bad.
Basically, no one has ever considered Anderson, now 55, a can’t-miss performer. She was actually one of the first people who became famous just for being famous/
But hold everything, because Anderson is taking the stage as Roxie Hart in Chicago … and critics will tell you she is knocking it out of the park. You can see for yourself in the video below.
Chicago, of course, is the longest-running Broadway musical in history. Anderson explained how she landed the role in an interview with Paper Mag.
Pamela Anderson on Broadway as Roxie Hart
“Eleven years ago, Rob Marshall and his partner saw me on the beach in Malibu at a surf contest with my sons. He approached me and asked if I’d consider a career on stage,” she said. “Broadway, he said he knew I was capable. I thought he was joking. He asked for my number and the infamous Barry Weissler called me the next day. We met and talked it through, but New York was far from my boys’ school. I said it would have to wait.”
Several years later, Anderson said, she started to reconsider.
“I kicked myself for years thinking it was a lost opportunity and it intrigued me, in theory, but it was absolutely right to stay close to my boys. And in the end, it came back around,” she said. “Just a few months ago, I had left my home in Canada to clear my head — a month long road trip get healthy and rethink my life. I have been writing my book over the last year and a lot came up for me, I needed to be in a safe place. I needed support, as I dredged up painful memories, realizing.”
“I was repeating patterns, right there on the page. There was no denying it. I meditated, I asked the universe what was next for me. As my world spun around me, I was generous, forgiving and understanding to others who were letting themselves down. I had to let go of negative people. All I had to do was prepare for my dreams to come true and get out of the way.”
Baywatch? Barbwire? Tommy Lee? Yeah, they’re all ancient history. Pamela Anderson is back, and perhaps better than ever.
