"Raw and Honest": Everything We Know About Pamela Anderson's "Real Story" and Her New Look
Here is what you need to know about the upcoming Pamela Anderson documentary
In 2022, Hulu released Pam & Tommy, a scripted series starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan. The dramatic show chronicled the notorious romance between Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, and how the couple's stolen tape ultimately led to their relationship unraveling. The show was an undeniable hit with fans and critics, with both actors recently earning Golden Globe Award nominations for their portrayal of the couple.
However, there was one person who wasn't a fan: Pamela Anderson. The former Baywatch star refused to consent or sign off on the series. However, now the 55-year-old is ready to tell the story from her own perspective. Here is everything we know about the upcoming show about her life.
Ryan White, Emmy-nominated documentarian, directs Pamela, a love story, a documentary chronicling the bombshell's life, from small-town girl to Playboy model, Baywatch star, and Broadway sensation. Pamela's son, Brandon Lee, is signed on as a producer. In March, she revealed in a note what to expect: "My life/ A thousand imperfections/ A million misperceptions/ Wicked, wild and lost/ Nothing to live up to /I can only surprise you /Not a victim, but a survivor /And alive to tell the real story," it read.
Pamela, a love story, will be available to stream worldwide on Netflix. The show will hit the streaming service on January 31. However, Vanity Fair recently published a 'first look' of the show, revealing what to expect from the highly anticipated show. Here's what we can expect.
White explained to the publication that he usually shies away from celebrity documentaries. "I feel like a lot of them are about brand management or selling a product, whatever that may be. And Pamela's the opposite of that," he said. "From the very beginning, she was like, 'You can ask me anything. I will talk about anything. I will be nothing but honest with you about it all."
According to White, the Pam and Tommy tape is just a fraction of what the couple recorded while together, and reveals that Pamela turned over decades worth of home movies and journals without even reviewing them. "The infamous stolen tape, which we're always very careful to call 'the stolen tape,' was just one of hundreds of hours that they filmed," says White.
"There's no calculation with how [Anderson] thinks about these types of things. It's all just about being raw and honest, for better or worse. It made for a really emotional film and I'm really grateful that I got to work with someone like that."
Pamela maintains that her sons convinced her to "tell her story on her own terms," says White. "They adore their mother and really hate seeing her story being told by other people in a way that they don't feel is authentic to who she is. Pamela, by nature, is an incredibly open and honest person. That's perhaps why Pamela's gotten burned a lot in her life, but I also think it's what's so lovable and infectious about her."
"Brandon can talk me into anything with his sincere heart and a fierceness that only a son could have," Anderson wrote to Vanity Fair in an email. "He wanted to tell my story, authentically and without distortion." Also, expect the show to "humanize" her relationship with Tommy, explains White. "I think they're often seen as these larger-than-life…maybe even cartoon characters. When you watch this footage of them meeting, it's really beautiful."
Anderson, who has refrained from opening up about the stolen tape in the past, is ready to tell her story. "Nobody knew the truth—even I don't know 100% of what happened, but I think what is most important is to share my human feelings and how much it hurt and how it undeniably defined me moving forward—in my career and my relationships," she wrote.
The show also documents all of her marriages. "Pamela wears her heart on her sleeve—not just in relationships but in all things in her life," says White. "All of her husbands are a part of her story, so they're in our film, including the most recent one. And no matter how many times it hasn't worked out for her, she still is a hopeless romantic and looking for true love in every way." Adds Anderson via email: "I'm a romantic, and romance is tragedy. I believe in fairy tales."
The show will include lots of never before seen photos and videos of the star, documenting her physical transformation from girl next door into a bombshell.
The documentary recess on the same day as the star's HarperCollins memoir Love, Pamela. "Writing my book was therapy," Anderson explains. Will Pamela, who never watched the Hulu series, watch this documentary? "The documentary I haven't seen, and I have no intention of seeing. I gave full access to my archives and diaries, and I hope that through full transparency, it makes sense to somebody."
