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TV's new VIP on gettin' naked, bein' a
drama queen--and (shhh!) her secret ache
by Luaine Lee
In case you had any doubts, Pamela Anderson Lee is a very
important person.
It says as much on her new syndicated series, V.I.P. Lee is
the star and exec producer of the show, in which she plays a
reluctant bodyguard facing a series of unplanned twists and
awkward scrapes.
Seems appropriate, considering Lee's own life. The blond
bombshell was a fitness instructor in British Columbia when
she was discovered at a football game by beer maker Labatt's.
(She happened to be wearing one of their T-shirts at the
time.)
Hawking brewski paved Pam's road to Hollywood, where she
punched in as the Tool Time girl on Home Improvement and
beautified the California coast on Baywatch.
But it was the five nude layouts and bestselling video for
Playboy that ensured her massive, uh, fame. It was also just
the kickoff of Lee's career as a bare-all starlet.
An allegedly stolen homemade X-rated video starring Pam and
rocker-husband Tommy Lee set off a frenzy in Hollywood and a
legal battle with an Internet company that sought to profit
from the tape.
The couple left the courtroom in defeat, only to return a
few months later--this time facing each other after Pam
accused Tommy of kicking her while she was holding then
seven-week-old Dylan. (He's now nine months; older brother
Brandon is two.) The rocker was sentenced to six months in
jail for spousal battery (he was released in August), and
Pamela filed for divorce.
Now 31, she is hoping to get attention with more, well,
conventional onscreen exploits. Will fans follow Pam into
the V.I.P. area? Something tells us they just might.
How do you feel about everything that has happened with
Tommy?
I've learned a lot. And in a way, it looks negative, but
it's all positive. My husband has definitely learned a lot.
And, you know, it's all going to be good in the future...I
really believe in fate. I believe I'm exactly where I'm
supposed to be every moment of every day.
Many women who are abused never have the courage to speak
up. Why did you?
You have to do what you have to do. And I have two little
children, and I'll do anything to make sure they're in a
loving environment.
It seems motherhood has really affected you.
I don't take as much crap as I used to. You know, once you
give birth, once you have kids, you realize what's important
in life, and you realize it's really not difficult to be a
good person. And so when people aren't good around me, I
tend to move away from that. There are so many good people
in the world, and you want to surround your children with
that. I gave birth at home both times--natural--with a
midwife, in water...with nothing.
No anesthesia? No doctor?
Nothing, not even Tylenol.
That was pretty brave.
Brave! Oh, I have huge balls. Yes I do. My brother says
that.
And yet sometimes you seem almost shy.
My mom can't believe I was in Playboy, because growing up, I
was very shy. I had a real strong imagination. I won awards
for creative writing. There's the person who lives inside my
head and the person I really am.
But how can a shy person bare it all for the world?
Playboy is really a different side of me that I didn't know
was there. Some of my happiest times--and this seems kind of
crazy--are doing photo shoots. I love them because I can be
anybody I want in a split second. It's harder to maintain
that over a television show or on film, but I can be 6
billion different people in a roll of film. I still don't
like looking at the pictures, though.
Why not?
I love doing what I do, but I don't like seeing the finished
product. I'm starting to. I like my new show and watching
dailies.But I've done things before where I couldn't watch
the show.
What things?
Well, actually Tommy has never seen an episode of Baywatch.
I wouldn't let anybody watch anything. My mom has seen them.
That's a little different.
What kind of a kid were you?
Always in trouble. I was a drama queen right from a very
young age.
What things did you do to get into trouble?
I put my brother in a barrel and told him not to come out
until I told him to. Then I alerted the whole town that he
was missing. The cops were there and the fire department.
When they found him, he said, "I can't come out till Pam
tells me to."
You really fell into acting. Do you like it? Is it
something you'd always wanted to do?
I never knew this is what I wanted to do when I started. I
was like...well, this is interesting, but I don't think I
could ever be any good at this.
Has that changed?
I'm having fun on the show. I'm working with some great
people and great writers. And it's such a combination of
everybody. When you see somebody on television who you think
is a good actor or actress, you don't realize that it's a
combination of so many things.
It's not just them. It's the writers, the editors, the
people in production. I have such a great group around me
right now that I have a lot more confidence in that
department. And I'm loving it.
How does it feel to be the star, actually the real VIP of
your own show?
I never realized that being with a studio was so...it's like
being married. It's so sweet. They're so worried about me. I
think people are kind of drawn to me because I'm very honest
about myself and my personal life. I just think they're
always worried that I'm actually going to say something
about my life.
I'm not going to go on and on about my personal life, but I
think I've been a very strong person, and I think I've gone
through a lot of things a lot of other people have. I don't
think I'm any different from anybody else. But life has lots
of challenges, and you always come out of them. So, I think
I'm a good example of that.
You've had some rough patches. Which was the roughest?
Lately, with my husband--that was very, very unexplainable.
But it's another thing I know we'll get through. It's very
hard.
Is there something you want to do that you haven't done?
I played saxophone for seven years in school, and there's a
musical side of me that's aching to come out. I sang all
through school. I sang all the solos and sang in a jazz
choir until one stupid boyfriend told me I couldn't sing.
And I didn't sing or dance anymore after that.
I think it was just a controlling thing. But I'm just aching
every day to do it, and I think someday I will. My brother's
a musician, and I've been saying we should go into a
recording studio and record something. But I still have that
mental block.
Who has most inspired you in your life?
I didn't realize the impact that my relationship with my
grandfather had on my life until much later. He's not around
anymore. He passed away when I was 11. But he taught me all
the principles of how I run my life.
He was a very spiritual person. He taught me how to
meditate, and he always said I wasn't an extension of
anybody else or the town I lived in. He said I had a new
life to do whatever I want with and to be a good person and
to just take opportunities as they come and go, with the
flow, day by day.
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