Pamela Anderson Lee's new flick Barb Wire may or may not make her the next Sharon Stone. She knows how to cause a Stone-size sensation in any case. Here, the global TV sex bomb chats about her two weddings to rocker Tommy Lee, explains how their honeymoon photos wound up in print, and charges that both Playboy and "Baywatch" are ripping her off.
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Stepping off a photographer's set, Pamela Anderson Lee glances my way with a brow-crinkled visage that asks: What are you doing here? Then it says: Get lost. Instead, I introduce myself. "The interview, Pamela? I'm the writer." The Baywatch sex symbol rubs her forehead, trying to conjure a memory of our appointment, then transforms her features into a put-upon sex kitten. "Can't do it today," she blithely purrs. "My heads hurts." Because I've flown 3,000 miles to get an audience with the hottest blonde to come off TV since Farrah Fawcett, and because her publicist has called several times to reschedule our start time, I know I'm at the right place at the right time. Seeing that I'm holding my ground, she whines, "Then we'll have to talk." But first she gives me 30 minutes to cool my heels while she arranges to buy many of the outfits she's been shot in.
I decide to kill the time by thinking about whether Anderson Lee's first starring feature, a futuristic action flick called Barb Wire, in which she plays a bounty hunter with a penchant for skintight outfits and stiletto heels, will succeed in turning her into a big-screen siren. Given that Anderson Lee's claims to fame are that she is a) the most curvaceous of the Baywatch babes, b) weekly supermarket bait in tabloid headlines, and c) Playboy Playmate nonpareil, who can say? The producer of Barb Wire, Mike Richardson, believes an actress lurks somewhere behind the silicone implants and somewhere beneath the heavy-metal hair that brought Anderson from Vancouver to Hollywood six years ago. Her performances in TV films to date confirm only what her Playboy fans already knew: she's very photogenic. Still, big-screen careers have been made on a lot less.
Having let me wait a good half hour, Anderson Lee reappears and leads me to a small office, where--while she chats on the phone with her mate, Motley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee--I can't help noticing the tattoo that encircles her left hand's ring finger.
MICHAEL KAPLAN: What's the deal with that tattoo, Pamela? Is it a souvenir from your whirlwind courtship with Tommy Lee?
PAMELA ANDERSON LEE: Yeah. I don't really like jewelry and I think diamonds are ridiculous. I've never wanted one, and if I did. I'd buy it for myself. So many women fight over how big their diamonds are, but the size of the stones is really about their man's ego over his little thing. I think diamonds have a direct relationship to your man's penis size.
Q: You're saying guys with small dicks compensate by buying flashy engagement rings?
A: Right. [Waving her left hand] That's why I have no diamonds.
Q: You're not the only one in your relationship who's gotten a new tattoo. I hear Tommy's added your name to his prodigious collection of body art.
A: He's had my name tattooed in a few places.
Q: I've heard about one place in particular: his penis.
A: I don't know how that got out. After all, there's a very select group of people who see his penis. But it says, "Pamela.'" And when he gets excited, it says, "I love Pamela very, very much. She's a wonderful wife and I enjoy her company to the ..." Uh...
Q: Nth degree?
A: "... to the 10th degree!"
Q: Besides the tattoo on your finger and the ring of barbed wire around your biceps--added during the filming of Barb Wire--where else are you tattooed?
A: There's one on the inside of my heel that I've had for years. That's it, but I will probably get more. Tattoos are like stories--they're symbolic of the important moments in your life. Sitting down, talking about where you got each tattoo and what it
symbolizes, is really beautiful. Body piercing, too, I think is beautiful.
Q: Are you pierced?
A: Let's just say that I love piercing.
Q: I'll take that to mean that you are. So just answer this one question: is the piercing above or below the waist?
A: Some things have to remain personal.
Q: Not if the tabloids have their way. You seem to be the queen of tabloid gossip this past year, and your marriage to Tommy has only escalated that.
A: At the moment, I guess, we're the flavors of the month for being picked on. People are very greedy in this town and we get abused everywhere we go. Supposed "friends" of mine--people I don't even know--have made a lot of money by selling stories about me to the tabloid press. We've had people breaking onto our property, ringing our doorbell, throwing rocks through our windows. And the photographers, those bloodsuckers--they jump out of bushes and won't leave me alone.
Q: All that may get worse once Barb Wire opens. How did you wind up with the starring role in this movie?
A: I didn't have to audition. The offer came in but my agent didn't tell me about it for a long time. Finally he said. "I'll tell you about this, even though you won't want to do it. They want you to play a comic-book character who rides around on motorcycles and shoots people." I heard that and instantly lit up. My response was, "Abso-fucking-lutely!'" He said it would be a really stupid career move. But I knew that it would be fun, and a good opportunity for me to kick ass.
Q: Considering the ultra-aggravated nature of the character--I heard you nicknamed her "Pambo"--did you have an easy time relating to her?
A: She has a lot of strength and is really a tough woman. I can relate to that. My friends and family all know that I have that kind of strength inside me. I don't get taken advantage of. A lot of people think I'm not very smart because I look a certain way. That is what everyone at home on Vancouver Island thinks. After I appeared on a couple of episodes of "Home Improvement," my mom told me to walk into Michael Eisner's office and tell him I was ready to do movies. I had to tell her that's not the way things work here. She told me that I am lucky, that whatever I do turns to gold, that all I have to do is ask. [Sighing] I told her she's living in a fairy tale land.
Q: Some people would say that about your spacey Baywatch character, C.J. I rented last summer's Baywatch movie, Forbidden Paradise, and was disappointed to find C.J. disappears halfway through. What happened?
A: We'd already finished the season when they decided to shoot that. I was already obligated to host the Australian Music Awards. I was only able to spend two days on location, so they wrote me in and out of the script.
Q: You could have used similar treatment from the writers of some of your TV and low-budget theatrical films, say, Raw Justice, Snapdragon or that Mike Hammer mystery, Come Die With Me.
A: Those were bad little movies that I got thrown into. As far as I am concerned, Barb Wire is my first movie.
Q: If it does well, it may start a career in features for you. Many TV stars have been unsuccessful in making the leap to movies. Do you fear flaming out?
A: No. I don't really care if I do another movie. The career that I want is motherhood. More than anything, Tommy and I would like to have a family.
Q: Let's talk about your own family: in addition to what you've said about your mom, your father was an alcoholic and your grandfather was obsessed with divining the meaning from dreams. How tough was your childhood?
A: I grew up poor. But my life was not really tough. Everybody, rich or poor, has their problems. My father's drinking was not the most pleasant thing, but I have no regrets.
Q: I understand you've given your family members quite a bit of financial help.
A: I bought them houses and paid their bills. I do everything for my family because I know how stressful low finances can be. People say that you can have money if you really want it, but that's not true. You have to sacrifice a lot to have money. I don't want the people in my family to become as rude and ruthless as you need to be in order to make money.
Q: Let's talk about some of your forays with the tabloids. You sued The Globe after one of its reporters accused you of being a heroin addict. Has that been resolved?
A: We settled out of court. Basically, they paid my lawyer's bills and printed a retraction. In order to get that, though, I had to provide them with a medical history and allow them access to everything in my life. I was practically mutilated in the process of proving that I am not a drug addict.
Q: What do you think when you read these things about yourself? I think it'd be tough enough to suffer a miscarriage without having to read about it, too. True?
A: I have cried many times from reading things in the tabloids. It's a bizarre way to live. Women claim I've had plastic surgery so that I would look like them. One magazine said Tommy was out partying while I was in the hospital with my miscarriage. The truth is, he slept in the bed with me while I was on intravenous. Just the other day, Tommy saw a posting about me on AOL [American Online], which said we're about to get a divorce!
Q: Want to address a few of the wilder rumors about you, and set the record straight? There are whispers that Tommy physically abuses you. More specifically, that you had bruises on your face which you explained away by saying you'd been injured doing a stunt for Barb Wire.
A: I have not had a bruise on my face since I was a kid. That is an out-and-out lie. I don't really bruise easily, first of all. The very rare time that I do get a bruise... wait a minute. What am I talking about, trying to explains bruise [that I didn't have]?
Q: Tommy's wild-boy rep--true or not--does precede him. Bobbie Brown, his girlfriend before you, filed a complaint with the police, claiming that Tommy assaulted her.
A: That sleaze? That girl Bobbie Brown's just desperate for attention and money. Believe me, he would never raise his hands to anyone. I've seen Tommy in situations where other people's shit would hit the fan, and Tommy has never lost control. Plus, if somebody pushes me hard enough, I will beat the shit out of them. I don't give a shit about who I am or how it will be perceived.
Q: OK, how about this one? Former Motley Crüe vocalist Vince Neil told a British paper that you led him into the ladies' room of L.A.'s Bar One and had sex with him there. He's quoted as saying, "She wanted sex at least 10 times on our first night."
A: Vince Neil claims that we dated and went out. I've never even kissed him. I'd like to see him say it to my face, in front of Tommy and the other guys From Mötley Crüe.
Q: What about the allegation that Tommy is trying to control your life and he rarely lets you out of his sight?
A: What? He's hanging out with me. He comes with me at four o'clock in the morning. I love things the way they are. What we're talking about is not being controlling, it's being crazy in love with each other! It's not that he doesn't trust me when I am away from him--he just doesn't want to be apart.
Q: Another rumor has it that Tommy kept you in your trailer, continually having sex, while you were supposed to be out on the set shooting Barb Wire.
A: Of course Tommy and I had sex in the trailer on the movie set--all the time! But that was both of our choices. He didn't keep me away from [working on] the set, though, and it had nothing to do with controlling me.
Q: Let's talk about something I know is true. French Penthouse recently published Polaroids from your honeymoon. The X-rated images depict you making mouth music on Tommy's organ.
A: Tommy and I moved into his house in Malibu before we bought our home, which is currently under renovation. Like a silly newlywed couple, we took two Polaroids. Everybody has done that. This is so ridiculous because we put them on the bedside table, then we moved. We figure that the movers stole the photos and had them published.
Q: Really? You think your moving men had access to the kinds of people who would hook them up with French Penthouse?
A: We're trying to think of anybody else who was in the house. There were some construction workers, so one of them could have stolen the pictures. [Laughing] But those were good shots. When I saw the first Polaroid, I was like. "Whoa, baby, we should frame this."
Q: You're laughing now, but what went through your head when you first saw the published photos?
A: I was devastated. Then I changed my attitude, to "Whoa! I'm having sex with my husband? That's really bad!" In the end, who cares? Just the fact that somebody would publish those photos says more about them than it does about me. The rumor I heard is that, we had hired somebody to photograph us and publish them. That is completely ridiculous. Do you really think we would hire someone to take blurry Polaroids?
Q: Speaking of naked pictures, it was the opportunity to pose for a 1990 issue of Playboy that brought you from Vancouver to L.A. How did you make the leap from LaBatt's beer spokesmodel to centerfold girl?
A: A representative from Playboy approached me at a fashion show in Vancouver--my boyfriend was modeling--and asked if I wanted to be in the magazine. My boyfriend said, "Absolutely not." I figured that'd be the end of it. Then, after my LaBatt's commercials aired, Playboy called me and asked if I wanted to come down to Hollywood and pose for the cover. My boyfriend was in a bad mood and he was treating me terribly--yelling at me because I was watching some cute guy on TV or something--so I asked how much they'd pay and when they wanted to see me. The woman promised to get back in touch. I hung up, turned to my boyfriend and told him, "Let's leave it to fate. If they call me again, I'll go. If they don't, then here I am with rotten you, and you can yell at me for the rest of my life."
Q: We know they called back. The magazine work led to a bit in the 1991 movie The Taking of Beverly Hills, a spot on Married ... With Children, and your stint as the Tool Time Girl on Home Improvement. Then, in 1992, came Baywatch, the most popular TV series around the world. Last year, your Playboy video, The Best of Pamela Anderson, knocked Forrest Gump from the number one spot on the video charts. What did you buy with the royalties?
A: Nothing. They used video clips of me that had been made when I first came down here. I signed away all of those rights, so now they make all this money off me and I get zero. That's what happens when you're naive and you come to town without any power. All the posters that come from Playboy and Baywatch? I don't get paid for those either. You just get burnt and it sucks. All this stuff is out there so that other people can make money. There are these blonde Baywatch dolls that have come out and the people from Baywatch say they're not based on my character. So they don't pay me for that.
Q: You sound resigned to being ripped off. Don't you mind?
A: Of course I mind being ripped off, but I don't have the heart or the time or the patience to go alter people. I turned down $100,000 to shoot a calendar, and then somebody came out with an unauthorized calendar. If you have the nerve to abuse me, go ahead. That isn't what's important to me. Money is not important. On the other hand, though. I really wish I did have some of that money because then I would be able to put another swing above my husband's piano.
Q: Another swing?
A: I don't have a trapeze yet--I am taking trapeze lessons, though--but I have a swing above Tommy's piano. He bought it for me for my birthday. Tommy loves watching me up there. He will sit at the piano, play music, and I swing from one end of the room to the other. Naked. Well, sometimes with a big hat on. I have the best seat in the house. It's just fun. If I didn't want to have kids someday, I would probably join the circus.
Q: You mentioned that you're renovating the house. What will it be like when it's completed?
A: Very fantasy-oriented, very gothic. There will be rooms that are completely purple with pewter ceilings. We will have swings in our bedroom and more swings over the piano.
Q: You married Tommy after knowing him for only four days. The two of you were partying in Cancun before having a poolside wedding. How did your family members and friends respond to news of the nuptials?
A: I wish I'd tape-recorded everybody's reaction when we called to tell them. The members of Tommy's band couldn't believe it. My best friend cried. My mother threw the phone.
Q: How come you didn't let her, or anyone else for that matter, know ahead of time?
A: I wanted to get married without any outside influences. People are always pulling me in all different directions, telling me what to do, and this was one decision I made completely on my own. I didn't want anybody saying, "You sure you don't want to think about it? I just wanted to do it.
Q: I think [producer] Jon Peters [who'd been dating Anderson] was taken aback. After you announced your marriage, he issued a press release that seemed to distance him from you.
A: Fine. He can say whatever he wants. It doesn't matter. I think he is a great person. He's kooky. He's crazier than ...shit. But I don't care. I have my husband. I'm married.
Q: Considering all the Hollywood guys you've gone out with--
A: I have no memory of other men in my life.
Q: Let me help to refresh your memory then. There's Scott Baio, to whom you became engaged; there's your Baywatch co-star, David Charvet, with whom you lived for awhile; TV's Superman, Dean Cain; the surfer, Kelly Slater; and rock n' roller Bret Michaels. I was just wondering what Tommy Lee has that the others don't.
A: I don't want to talk about any of those other guys. People from the past are people I don't care to talk about.
Q: Let's reword the question, then. What is it that initially drew you to Tommy?
A: He is one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. He knows every tree on the planet; he can name every plant. He loves flowers. He's got a great combination of qualities; he's got a wild side and a gentle side as well. We click perfectly. We're always in the same mood at the same time.
Q: But you were not interested in him at first, were you?
A: I avoided him more than I [ever] avoided anybody in my life. Last New Year's Eve, we were both hanging at Sanctuary. He came up, grabbed me, and licked my face. I thought he was a cool, friendly, nice guy, so I gave him my number. But then I thought he was part of a [wild] Hollywood crowd that I try to avoid. I was like, do not come near me!
Q: He pursued you anyway?
A: He called like crazy. He seemed to be going overboard, so I didn't call him [back]. Then, one day. I told him, "You have 24 hours to take me on a date. Then I will never see you again." He said. ''OK," and didn't ask any questions.
Q: So what happened when the big day arrived?
A: He called me 40 times, and then I decided that it would be a bad idea to go out with somebody who's so persistent. So I had my friend call him and say, "Pamela doesn't remember ever speaking to you or saying that she would go out with you." Then, later, just as I was ready to leave for Cancun to do a photo shoot, the phone rang. I picked it up and his voice said, "Hi, this is Tommy Lee." I told him I was going to Cancun. He said. "You're going without me?" I begged him not to come down there. He said, "OK, see you later." I thought it was a weird way for him to end the conversation. But I hung up and left for the airport.
Q: He followed you to Cancun, tracked you down, and soon you two were married. But I understand that you recently had a second wedding. What was that about?
A: It was just for fun. One day Tommy said, "I want to marry you again." I said, "OK. You find the priest. I'll find the clothes." His two best friends call us "The Space Kids"--I don't know why!--and they call our house "Mission Control." I said to them. "You know, one day you're going to come here and see space suits. I'll make you put them on and we will sit around, wearing space suits and drinking cocktails." They thought I was joking, but I went to the costume store and bought everything they had in silver. Tommy's two friends came over and I made them put on the space suits. People were wearing crowns and waving magic wands. Tommy and I had on silver capes, and we got married like that. We're always doing crazy things.
Q: Give me another example of your craziness.
A: Tommy will have his two friends over and I'll get them wearing my rubber dresses. I drink one glass of wine and all of a sudden I come out with my whole wardrobe. These guys have the quality that I most love: open-mindedness. They'll do anything to have fun. They were kickboxing in my bikinis once. When I bring a present home for Tommy, he'll open the box and see that it contains high heels. Size 10-and-a-half. Men's.
Q: And he'll put them on?
A: Of course. Or else, if Tommy is in a bad mood, that's when I go upstairs and come down wearing this three-foot high Mad Hatter hat and high heels. He looks at me and just cracks up--because that's all I've got on.
Q: You certainly sound like you're enjoying married life.
A: It's just fun. You should be able to do what you want in life. I see it all as a great big adventure.
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Michael Kaplan interviewed Henry Rollins for the Jan/Feb '95 Movieline.