SHOCKING! Pamela Anderson's Real Passion Isn't What You Think—Her Animal Activism Will Move You!

A tender-hearted animal advocate

Authored by Nicole Wilde, CPDT-KA

Last reviewed and updated: October 24, 2024

Since she rocketed to global fame on Baywatch, Pamela Anderson has ranked among the planet's most watched and dissected celebrities. Punch her name into any search engine and you'll pull up north of two million pages digging into every corner of Pam's life—and trust us, there's been no shortage of corners. We've all heard the gossip about her romances, her cosmetic work, and sure, those infamous home videos.

Yet what the media circus tends to skip is the grit Anderson showed facing some brutal personal struggles, and the drive she pours into helping both people and creatures. While most stars bury their troubles from fans, Anderson went public with her fight against hepatitis C, plus the abuse she endured in past relationships, hoping others might learn from her pain. But nowhere has she put her fame to better use than in animal advocacy. From strict vegetarianism to spokeswoman work for PETA, Anderson has grown into a loud voice fighting to better the lives of all animals.

Anderson's soft spot for animals sparked as a little girl in Ladysmith, B.C. In that rural town, where hunting was a pastime for many, young Pam first learned that speaking up for creatures could actually move the needle. 'I remember poking my head into the shed behind our house after my father came back from a hunt,' she says. 'I opened the door and saw a gorgeous deer, fur splattered with blood, hanging upside down. I screamed. My dad tried to calm me with 'It's just an animal.' That he'd killed her on purpose sent me into hysterics.' The result? Her dad never hunted again—and a fierce animal activist was born.

It didn't take long before she found PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), a group that never quits campaigning for creatures. 'At 11, when I realized hamburgers didn't grow in hamburger patches but came from cows that screamed as they were shocked to slaughter, I went veg and spent every free minute rolling nickels to join PETA, a group always in the news defending animals.' Little did she know that years later, her naked image would headline one of PETA's most winning anti-fur pushes ever.

But Anderson's animal work isn't always so loud. 'I always try to slip in some quiet protest whenever I'm in public,' she says. 'At the recent British Style Awards, I picked Stella McCartney—not just 'cause she's British, but 'cause she's cruelty-free and such a loyal PETA backer.' Anderson adds that Stella's late mom, Linda McCartney, was a role model growing up. 'Linda used her platform to defend animals and raised her kids to respect them. In my own way I try to copy her by steering my kids off dairy, joking that butter comes from cows' butts.'