Pamela Anderson has one of the most iconic names in pop culture, but if it were up to her, she would go back to her roots. Born in British Columbia, Canada, she broke into the industry in 1989 when she was discovered at a football game, later becoming a Playboy model, and, of course, landing her famous role as C.J. Parker on Baywatch.
While we all know her famous last name, the 58-year-old was originally born Pamela Hyytiäinen. In a cover story for Vogue Scandinavia, she explained that she wishes she could change her name.
“Sometimes I don’t want to be Pamela Anderson. I want to be Pamela Hyytiäinen," she shared. "I would like to change my name, but they won’t let me.” Anderson didn't reveal who exactly "they" are, but it's likely her team of agents and managers.
In the interview, Anderson opened up about her Finnish grandfather, Herman Hyytiäinen, who was a logger and a poet of the old world full of folklore and forest stories. “He was the closest person to me in my life,” Anderson recalls.
Like many immigrant stories, the Hyytiäinen name got tucked away when the family crossed into Canada. They chose the easier to pronounce and more North American-sounding, Anderson.
But Herman kept their Nordic culture alive, teaching Pamela Finnish. She carried a dictionary for what she believed was their secret magical language, but after he passed away when she was 11, she said her fluency “kind of left with him."
A new chapter for Pamela
Pamela has had many chapters of her life, and right now, she is in her no makeup, movie star, Golden Globe nominee, in love with Liam Neeson era. “My imagination has run wild with me over the years. I’ve been trying different people on for size,” she told the outlet.
“You have to peel it all back, many times, and start over and over again.” She's been on a journey of reclaiming her image and a longing for authenticity.
While promoting her cookbook, I Love You: Recipes from the Heart, she reflected on how the public image of “Pamela Anderson” often eclipses the homemaker she has always been.
“People have this pneumatic kind of image of me — from Playboy to Baywatch to my rock ’n’ roll type of husbands,” she told Better Homes & Gardens. “And as much as I threw every dinner party and cooked all those meals for family and my kids, it wasn’t what was seen publicly.”
“But I also played into the image that was created around me. I’m glad I did all that, but I’m really glad I’m where I am now," she continued.