Pamela Anderson believes she suffered from depression for decades

Pamela Anderson has spoken about her mental health. Photo / Getty Images

Pamela Anderson says she believes she suffered from depression for “a couple of decades”.

The actress opened up about her life and career during an appearance at the Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland, where she was honoured with the event’s Golden Eye Award.

However, the Baywatch icon revealed she barely remembers much of her life in the spotlight.

“I look at it now and it feels like I went from Baywatch to Broadway. I don’t know what happened in between, it’s all a big blur,” Anderson said at the festival, as reported by Variety.

“I am just happy to be here, in this moment, because I think I have had depression for a couple of decades.”

Pamela Anderson received the Special Jury Prize for The Last Showgirl at the 72nd San Sebastian International Film Festival on September 28, 2024. Photo / Getty Images

Anderson, 57, made her Broadway debut in 2022 playing Roxie Hart in Chicago for eight weeks. She has gone on to land a number of film roles, including The Last Showgirl, Rosebush Pruning, and a role in the Naked Gun reboot, which is due for release next year.

The star said she’s thrilled to be busy with work again and believes her 2023 Netflix documentary, Pamela, A Love Story, helped revive her career.

“That’s how Gia [Coppola, The Last Showgirl’s director] saw me. I always knew I was capable of more. It’s great to be a part of pop culture, but it’s a blessing and a curse. People fall in love with you because of a bathing suit. It has taken a long time, but I am here,” she added.

Anderson previously told Collider: “I think timing is everything. I thought I was never gonna get the chance to do anything like this.

“I kind of thought, ‘Oh, well, that’s what people think of me. I’m just gonna go back to my farm, make jam, and that’s it. I’ll figure out another way to make my life beautiful’.

“But the documentary came out, the book [her memoir, Love, Pamela] came out, and Gia saw the documentary. She must be some kind of master or prophet or something, but she was so wonderful to send the script to me, and I read it and I was like, ‘Oh God, this is that thing. This is that thing when people read a script and they really realise they’re the only ones that can do it. They have to do it. It’s life and death’.

“And I felt that way, and I get chills even thinking about it.”

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In a profile for Glamour Magazine published last week, Anderson spoke candidly about entering a new chapter in her life and career, as well as revealing some heartbreaking truths about her turbulent relationship with herself over the decades.

The cover story marked Anderson being named as one of Glamour’s Global Women of the Year, an honour she received alongside tennis legend Serena Williams. Anderson attended the magazine’s Women of the Year Awards in London last week, just days after she was awarded the Special Jury Prize for The Last Showgirl at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

“I feel more comfortable in my skin now than I have in the last 30 years,” she told Glamour.

“You’re going to hit a crossroads in your 50s, and you go, ‘Am I going to chase youth? Am I going to be miserable? Or am I going to be self-accepting?’ And it’s a practice.”

- Additional reporting by NZ Herald

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION

Where to get help:
• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• 0800 Anxiety Helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY). This service is confidential and free of charge. Open 24/7.
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• Aoake te Rā (Bereaved by Suicide Service): Call 0800 000 053
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

ANXIETY

Where to get help:
• LIFELINE AOTEAROA: 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• SUICIDE CRISIS HELPLINE: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• YOUTHLINE: 0800 376 633
• NEED TO TALK? Free call or text 1737 (available 24/7)
• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111 757 or TEXT 4202
• NATIONAL ANXIETY 24 HR HELPLINE: 0800 269 4389