“I came home to myself when I came home,but it also made me realise that so much was unresolved in my life.”
The net result of this homecoming was twofold. First,the renovation transformed into a TV series,Pamela’s Garden of Eden,released last year. But more importantly,Anderson began working on her memoir,Love,Pamela,and a documentary, Pamela:A Love Story.
Anderson at a screening of her Netflix documentary in New York City in February.Credit:Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix
Both were released simultaneously on January 31 to critical acclaim,leading to Anderson’s unique position in popular culture being re-examined with fresh eyes.
Anderson’s story is one we thought we knew – the bubbly blonde who shot to fame inBaywatch and whose stolen sex tape and high-profile marriage to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee only added to her sex symbol status.
But the documentary and memoir offered Anderson something that has long escaped her:a chance to be heard instead of just seen.
“During long periods in my life,I felt resigned to ‘Oh,this is just what people think of me’,and it seems like you can’t tell your story,but the documentary changed that,” says Anderson.
Pamela Anderson with former husband Tommy Lee in 1995. The couple divorced in 1998.Credit:AP
She admits she hasn’t seen the entire documentary because revisiting that period of her life is too difficult. “I started to watch it and I just fell apart;seeing my sons young and our family together is hard.”
But she’s felt the impact it has had on her legacy. “For the first time,I feel rooted for. People come up to me on the street and say,‘I love you,but I never liked you before’,and even though it sounds strange,I know that’s a compliment.”
I am speaking with Anderson one week after the release of Britney Spears’ memoir,The Woman In Me, and it’s difficult to ignore the parallels. Like Anderson,Spears is attempting to regain control and ownership of her story,having been chewed up and spat out by an industry that once adored her.
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While it might be optimistic to say Anderson and Spears are forcing a reckoning,is the response a sign things are moving in the right direction?
“I’m not sure,but I feel glad she’s doing this. I don’t know Britney personally,but she wrote me a note when the documentary came out and seemed touched by my relationship with my boys.”
Anderson returned the favour,sending Spears a letter reminding her that “this business is crazy,but we all get through it somehow”.
For Anderson,it’s clear that going home to Ladysmith is her version of getting through it somehow,and when talk turns to the second season ofGarden of Eden,there’s a noticeable lightness in her voice.
“This place lets me know I’m good enough just as I am – I’m good enough for my dogs,my boys and my garden,” she says.
Season two features Anderson helping her two sons renovate their new Los Angeles home while together they continue to improve Vancouver Island.
“My boys are who I’m most proud of in the world,and they are my Garden of Eden,” she says. “And while I’m renovating my life,and I’m renovating this property,I’ve also looked into my history and been able to face it and erase it.”
Pamela’s Garden of Eden is on Binge from November 17,with new episodes weekly.