Pamela Anderson says it's difficult navigating an industry based on 'physical beauty,' 'naiveté' in Martha Stewart interview

Pamela Anderson is getting her flowers from around the world — but this time from Martha Stewart. The two icons in the entertainment world sat down for a candid conversation over Zoom recently, where the 57-year-old Canadian actress divulged on everything from fitness and her hometown in British Columbia, to show business and her latest movie role.

Elle published the interview on Friday, along with several stunning photos of Anderson, who's the magazine's latest digital cover star. The chat between the two women began with Stewart, 83, commending Anderson on her performance in The Last Showgirl, as well as Anderson opening up about her snub at the Oscar nominations.

The duo, who were meeting for their first one-on-one chat, then explored the challenges they've experienced in Hollywood. Stewart recalled a scene in the Gia Coppola film where Anderson's character, a seasoned showgirl dealing with the shuttering of her show after three decades, is at an audition where she's abruptly told she's not what the production is looking for.

"I can't stop thinking about that man in the audition scene ... it's happened to all of us," Stewart said. "Those auditions that are just so ridiculous and so heartless. You get the real feeling of that there."

Anderson replied noting she enjoyed the essence of the character she played, Shelly, who's in her 50s and has to face some misogyny and ageism in the scene: "I like that she doesn't take no for an answer. She almost walks away, but then turns back and says, 'What didn't you like about it?' As much as she wore her heart on her sleeve in reassessing her life choices, she fought back."

Stewart continued to share her own similar experience at an audition as a model when she was around 17 years old. She recalled attending a go-see with around 15 men sitting around a table who had soon asked her to change into a bikini. Stewart questioned whether the part she was up for required a bikini, to which the men said no. "I just walked out of the room," she said, adding she "just wouldn’t put up with that crap."

"That's the way I've been all along, I just wouldn't put up with it," Stewart added. "When you see that other girls put up with it because they need the money or they need the job, it's a difficult situation. I think that might be getting better after all these years."

Anderson then shared how difficult the entertainment industry can be for women, who often might want to please people in the business but also know what's asked of them isn't always morally OK.

"It's hard to navigate a business that is based on physical beauty and also naiveté. You're in this business and you want to please people and you have a gut feeling that maybe it's not the right thing to do, and you can get yourself in these dangerous situations," she noted, adding she was very shy when she was young.

"I wanted to do anything to stop being shy. When the Playboy cover [opportunity] came up, my mom said, 'Do it.' I didn't know what it was going to lead to, but then it led to this wild and crazy life."

Those familiar with Anderson know she's on somewhat of a renaissance — or "Pam-aissance," according to the internet — with her career and image. Across numerous red carpets as of late, the former Baywatch star has been rocking make-up free looks, showing off her natural beauty and redefining what it means to age as a celebrity.

"I've always been a little bit of a rebel. I decided that I don't have to wear makeup every day or be in a hair and makeup chair every day," she told Stewart, who asked about what's exciting or distressing her nowadays. "Even in this photo shoot for Elle, I wore makeup, and it was exciting and glamorous. I'm trying to find what my next incarnation is. I'm a farm girl, but I love glamour, and I love beauty."

She continued to share she wants to experiment but by doing so herself, adding she wants "to be a little more polished but not look overdone."

Hailing from Vancouver Island off of Canada's Pacific Coast, Anderson opened up about the "old mining town" of Ladysmith, B.C., after Stewart asked more about the star's hometown and current residence.

"My grandmother had this little auto court with nine cabins. I'm in the roadhouse right now, which used to be her general store, and she would serve tea in the little teahouse. It's all connected. I wanted to come home to the place where the trees knew me since birth," Anderson continued, adding a typical day in her life on the West Coast might include gardening and making food for her family.

"I pruned back my roses yesterday. I moved my parents onto the property, so I cook for them. It's fun to make my dad eat more vegetables."

Looking to the future, Anderson added she's now working on a few short stories but doesn't necessarily know where they'll go. While those could turn into future on-screen projects, she stated she has a plethora of things she might want to work on.

"They might become short films. There are a lot of people talking to me about a lot of different things right now, which is really exciting, but I have no shortage of ideas," Anderson noted. "Everyone has their own way, and I feel like I've taken a very unorthodox route to get to this point, and it was just my way. People ask me for advice sometimes, and I think, 'Don't ask me for advice, but you'll find your way.'"

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