Pam Anderson, 57, Is Just Now Getting Comfortable With Swimsuits

Pamela Anderson was first introduced to many households across the country as lifeguard C.J. Parker in the hit TV series Baywatch. Wearing a swimsuit was a part of Anderson (and C.J.)'s job description, but it wasn't exactly something Anderson fully enjoyed. 

The Barb Wire star opened up to Glamour in a new interview looking back on her decades in the spotlight and reflecting on where she is now in her life and career. In recent years, the former Playboy Playmate has been appearing in public with a makeup-free face, signaling a major shift from her long-established blonde bombshell image. 

That reputation, she said, haunts her to this day. "Even when I hear my name, I don’t like it. I have a negative connotation with it," she confessed. "I still have a stereotype of myself almost. And so it’s been hard work to try and get rid of that because I’m a woman."

Her self-consciousness went beyond just her name, as she also struggled with how she saw her body in the mirror. It's only now, at age 57, that she feels liberated when wearing a swimsuit. 

"I feel like [now] it’s the first time in my life where I feel like if I’m wearing a bathing suit…I feel fine about myself. It’s so freeing," she said. "It’s so crazy because sucking in…or trying to live up to this crazy expectation of what people want you to look like or be as you get older, things change."

"I’m lucky because I’ve never really had to worry about my weight or anything like that, but I just... [have] never been 100 percent confident," she added. 

It's been a journey, but the destination was worth it for Anderson. "I’m finding I feel more comfortable in my skin now than I probably have in the last 30 years. But I didn’t realize it until now," she said. 

"I think, instead of trying to be this polished person, I’d rather be raw," she concluded. "I’m definitely much happier now."