From Venice to Vogue World: Every Cinematic Look Pamela Anderson Wore This Month

When I think of iconic blondes throughout history, my mind immediately goes to Marilyn Monroe and Pamela Anderson. This made me wonder: Is Pamela Anderson the Marilyn Monroe of our time?

Funny enough, when I googled the question, one of the first things that popped up was press surrounding her starring role in the The Last Showgirl (2024), along with a quote from Director Sofia Coppola: "She is the Marilyn of our time." As with Monroe, who also modeled before becoming an actor, there’s something much deeper beneath the image they both initially became known for—like that of a performance artist—as explored in her 2023 documentary, Pamela, A Love Story (which coincided with the release of her memoir, Love, Pamela).

Since The Last Showgirl, the 59-year-old has continued expanding her acting résumé with roles in Akiva Schaffer's Naked Gun and Karim Aïnouz's Rosebush Pruning, and she was at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of her next performance in Kornél Mundruczó's Place to Be on September 9. (Other upcoming projects include Michael Cera's Love Is Not the Answer, Brian Klugman's Somedays, and Sally Potter's Alma.)

For the festival, she wore three different looks, one by Monse and two others by Carolina Herrera, inspired by "the colors of the sunset." In the days leading up to this, she attended several other events across the floating city: a Golden Globes party in Oscar de la Renta, a Miu Miu dinner in Miu Miu, and the amfAR Gala, at which she was honored, in Calvin Klein.

Then, after Venice, she was off to New York to cohost the Kering Caring for Women Dinner in Gucci; attend fashion week shows for Calvin Klein, Khaite, and Carolina Herrera; and go to the Hublot x Jeff Koons launch in Magda Butrym. Next, she returned to Italy for Vogue World Milan in Ferragamo on Tuesday, September 22. Needless to say, it's been a very busy September for her, and to my surprise, on top of it all, she told me, "I have a small personal wardrobe and wonderful alliances with brands that dress me for events. I deal with them directly—I do not have a stylist." Across every outfit this month, there was a through line tying it together: channeling Italian cinema—specifically the films of the late, great Fellini.

Below, I spoke with Anderson about her past month—from Venice to Vogue World.

I'd love to hear about attending Venice Film Festival earlier this month.

I’m über-focused on career, and film festivals are brimming with filmmakers—true auteurs. I want to be seen amongst fellow creative people, so it’s fun, and I get an unexpected amount of love and camaraderie. As for a career, there are many variables. You can be a good actor in a bad movie and vice versa. But it’s hard to say again it’s all subjective. It’s a team sport. I kind of like how I’m doing it—I guess I’ve always known how to get attention. Good or bad. Even if subconsciously, I can trigger emotion. I don’t necessarily know how I do it specifically. I don’t really know how to play the game. I’m not good at rules or formulas. I’m not very social, but I love the idea of a “socialite”—it all interests me. Every day is an adventure. Life is the big picture but you live in moments and prepare for greatness. Always. I don’t feel comfortable around false people—I don’t expect perfection in love, relationship, parenting—and definitely not from myself ever… I like the mysterious and unpredictable.

Can you tell me about your looks for the festival?

My style has always been on purpose. It’s always been who I was in the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever chased trends… but my moods, my self-worth, my self- empowerment has been a barometer and what dictates how I present myself to the world. I’m a performer. I thought a lot about this. I’m very visual. Jeff Koons called me a performance artist. Friends used to tell me Andy [Warhol] would’ve loved me—it’s the greatest compliment. It’s not necessarily been about beauty. I’ve always felt a little funny looking—unsymmetrical. I’m not trying to be “pretty” (for pretty’s sake)—that’s only an opinion anyway and subjective. An alchemist—and this is where the actress is hovering.

How did the outfits come together?

I thought of Fellini. How would I get his attention to put me in a film? Maybe it’s all an audition. I’ve studied off and on for over three decades with Ivana Chubbuck and these last few years seriously and consistently. I’ve been to a few of her classes back in the day. I even sat in the back row at The Actors Studio in New York. Though, I haven’t participated. I’ve taken voice, improv, and some dance lessons. I know my body. I was “an animal” in photo shoots because I played what my fantasy was. It may be the unorthodox route. I didn’t go to Juilliard. But I’ve been in summer theater in Williamstown in a Tennessee Williams play (Camino Real) with many students of Juilliard. I’ve always surrounded myself with artists, misfits, the Hollywood wild ones and by osmosis became one. Or I’ve chosen to be alone, marinating in my own thoughts, reading, writing, gardening, baking sourdough. Looking for fossils—curious in the primitive, Indigenous peoples and ways, constellations, space…

What's your red carpet dressing philosophy?

I think I’m in a film—however short. It’s a character not a caricature. I am in cinematic roles. If I’m not in a film, I pretend I’m in a film. Why not?

What're your beauty inspirations and your favorite red carpet products?

My Sonsie Skin has been a game changer. I think about ancient beauty—more primitively—as inspiration.

Do you have a signature scent?

I create my own scents. I have a “love potion,” a mix of essences and oil.

You must be so used to doing red carpets by now, but is there anything that you tell yourself right before or during? I know some people have little rituals or mantras.

I like peaceful and quiet time before. Alone time.

You attended the festival for your new movie Place to Be. What is your approach to getting into a new role? Does it feel different every time?

That’s a complex explanation. But I work endlessly on character creation. It’s a metamorphosis. It starts with my entire life—all that I’ve gone through goes into everything I do.

You also worked with Ellen Burstyn and played her character's daughter.

She is the queen and is one of my favorite actors—Ellen Burstyn, Gena Rowlands, Liv Ullmann. I was watching Bergman's Autumn Sonata while filming Place to Be—I was happy when I was compared to a Bergman actress in the film. It was exhilarating. I’m still learning, searching, exploring. But I know I’m a vessel for something good. I have unique power and a messy kind of grace, and it’s my goal. I want to be good at this, no matter what it takes. I gave up on wanting to feel accepted long ago. I was very young, maybe 4 years old, when I decided that. So I have nothing to lose. I’m trying to communicate. All that I’ve gone through and say—look at me—I’m alive. You can’t kill me.

If you could invent any role for yourself, what would be a dream role for you?

I’m looking at a few projects now that I love. But I think I’m ready for a romantic European drama.

You’ve done a lot of events and traveling in September alone. I love your Substack, and in recent posts, you talk about stillness, and it’s very clear you’re a reflective person. During these busy seasons, do you have any routines for staying grounded and in tune with yourself?

I love my garden. I write every morning. I dream up my next incarnations. We are not one thing. I think I’m consistently inconsistent. When it comes to how I look, it’s not about being pretty for me. I’m not sure it ever was. I want to find myself and grow with any opportunity. I don’t take things or experiences lightly.

You also went to New York Fashion Week. What was your inspiration for those outfits?

I’m just sharing my truth—if not through roles in films, it will be through fashion, gardening, and performing where I am. I love the things that I can just do myself. Those are easier. To maintain a character while front row at Vogue World for only a few hours… or when acting, you need others. You need to be accepted into and be friends with other actors. It’s the hardest part of this: the schmoozing. I’m actually quite shy. And I run from encounters with people I admire—Anna Wintour or Martin Scorsese—it takes a lot for me to go up to someone. I dread it. But I wish I was better at it.

Because I have so much I want to say. I’m capable of more. I just don’t know where to put it yet. I do this every day. I tell stories through lots of ways. I just need a director to see that in me and guide me—I’m fully loaded. I have a deep capacity. It’s inside me. I call her the monster—she simmers just below the surface. It’s in my eyes. I try to look at others this way. Their interiors—not only their exteriors.

There is no time to waste, especially waiting on others. So I’m going to play in this creative space, be free—if finding a way to enjoy a red carpet or comfortably tend to my garden, I’m on to something. Even my skincare Sonsie is expression—it’s interesting to share how to care for ourselves and love through any channel. As for my open journal on Substack (edited by my son Dylan), I would be a little more esoteric and poetic, but he reels me in so it’s palpable and real for everyone. Between us, it’s been a communication source as well.

I am on my path with or without you. I am my own mood board. What makes someone popular? What makes someone an artist people want to see in the movie theater and not just in photos? I don’t know—I’m working on that.

You mention being shy. For people who feel similar, knowing this about yourself, do you have anything you’ve learned over the years on how to handle this when you’re in those types of situations?

I just go into things feeling my awkward feelings. It’s brave. It takes courage. And it’s never seamless when it’s honest.

You said, “I’m not very social, but I love the idea of a ‘socialite.’” Why do you think that is? Is it the type of thing where you admire that quality and wish to embody it more yourself?

I miss beautiful ideas and conversations where you learn something. I have so much to say. But I run in the opposite direction. Brief encounters. But hopefully meaningful. Unforgettable.

You also shared, “I gave up on wanting to feel accepted long ago.” It can be such a feat trying to let go of that. How did you get to that place?

I’ve been obsessed with Carl Jung (and Ingmar Bergman) since I was a teenager. I have read everything and watched documentaries about all of Jung’s inner circle. And have studied every Bergman film. I’m not sure where dreams end and life begins. I am imagining my life as it comes. It’s how I’ve always been.