When the Golden Globe nominations were announced on Dec. 9, one thing became very clear: Pamela Anderson is securely back on top of the zeitgeist.
The Ladysmith, sa国际传媒-native and former Baywatch and Playboy star earned a nomination for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture – drama category for her turn in Gia Coppola’s film, The Last Showgirl.
In the movie, Anderson plays Shelly, a 57-year-old Las Vegas showgirl whose world turns upside down after the show she has been a part of for three decades abruptly closes.
The film, which will be released to theatres in sa国际传媒 on Jan. 17, also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd. It was written by Kate Gersten.
The Last Showgirl also received a nomination for best original song for Beautiful That Way, sung by superstar Miley Cyrus and written by producer Andrew Wyatt, Cyrus and Lykke Li.
“I just got this message from Gia that said ‘Pamela’ with exclamation points. I thought, ‘Oh, what does that mean?’” said Anderson during a Zoom call.
Her publicists then confirmed that Anderson had been nominated for a Golden Globe.
“I was so excited! I mean, I couldn’t ever imagine this. So, I’m just taking it day by day. It’s really exciting,” said Anderson, who said her phone lit up as soon as Mindy Kaling read her name out during the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations earlier in the week.
“I didn’t even know so many people had my cell phone number, because I rarely carry it. Everybody I know, everybody called and texted me that day so I didn’t have to reach out to anybody. My parents were happy, very excited.”
Nominated alongside Anderson in the drama category are: Angelina Jolie (Maria); Nicole Kidman (Babygirl); Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door); Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) and Kate Winslet (Lee).
The Golden Globe awards ceremony will be held at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles on Jan. 5.
“It’s a group effort and I want to pay respect to that, (to the) community around me that has helped made — MAKE? — this happen,” said Anderson, who was speaking from Los Angeles but will soon be heading home to Ladysmith for the holidays. “The script is so great. Gia is wonderful and the music element and the editors. There is so much that goes into making a performance …It’s starts with a beautiful story.”
Anderson paid respect to Coppola for casting her in this serious, poignant role about a woman facing her world changing forever.
“Gia had such a vision. You know, she can see through the nonsense and see a person who needs to express themselves as an artist. So I will be eternally grateful to her for the experience,” said Anderson.
Leading up to The Last Showgirl, Anderson had other projects that kept her busy between “making pickles and jam” at her Ladysmith home. There was a Netflix documentary about her, a memoir, a turn on Broadway as Roxie Hart in Chicago, and a lifestyle TV show about the renovation of her Ladysmith compound. She also caught a lot of attention and press for her choice to face the world — and the red carpet — makeup-free.
“I’m living just like any woman. And I try different hairstyles,” said Anderson, when asked about the internet chatter about her new fringe and fresh face.
“I was really kind of drawn to the no-makeup makeup kind of thing because I’m still trying to figure out who I am underneath it all. I feel like I’ve been playing characters my whole life, in my personal life, and now that I get to play them in films and movies, I can actually just be myself. It’s an experiment I’m playing with … I never thought anyone would even notice. But I love that other people are having makeup-free dinner parties and all sorts of stuff.”
But that doesn’t mean Anderson, who will be seen starring alongside Liam Neeson in the Naked Gun remake out next summer, has shut the makeup bag entirely on glam.
“I still love makeup, by the way. I love getting glammed up for photoshoots and for events, sometimes,” Anderson said. “Tomorrow, I could wear a full face of makeup. I just wanted to be able to have the freedom of walking around and walking outside without feeling like I needed three hours in a makeup chair. It was just starting to get a little bit crazy.”
