Pamela Anderson's Net Worth Revealed—Including How Much She Really Made From 'Baywatch' and Her Sex Tape With Tommy Lee
She went from a red swimsuit to swimming in green.
Pamela Anderson’s net worth can be attributed to, well, some of her biggest attributes. The blonde bombshell got her start as a Playboy Playmate and Baywatch Babe in Hollywood—earning a lot of attention due to her curvaceous figure. Whatever you may think of her, there’s no denying she has made her mark in pop culture history.
With a critically acclaimed turn on Broadway in Chicago, Anderson has shown she can endure in show business. Now, with her new memoir Love, Pamela and her Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story, fans are able to get an even closer look into her very public personal life. We have to wonder, how much has this buxom babe been able to make over the years?
Here is all you need to know about Pamela Anderson’s net worth!
How did Pamela Anderson become famous?
Pamela Anderson was discovered in an unusual way. In 1989, the blonde beauty was attending a BC Lions Canadian Football League game in her native Vancouver, Canada. She was wearing a very tight-fitted Labatt's beer T-shirt when she was featured on the jumbotron to a wild reaction from the crowd. As a result, she was brought onto the field later on during the game and the crowd blew up again. This led to the brewing company briefly hiring Anderson as a spokesmodel.
The notoriety Anderson gained from that serendipitous sports game directly led to her appearing as the cover girl for Playboy’s October 1989 issue. She moved to Los Angeles to further her career and was then chosen as Playboy’s Playmate of the Month for their February 1990 issue, in which she also appears as the centerfold. Her Playboy appearances are what brought Anderson her initial levels of real fame.
In 1991, Anderson began appearing on Home Improvement as Lisa, the Tool Girl, a role she kept for the show’s first two seasons.
In 1992, she landed the part that would make her a star: C.J. Parker on Baywatch. Anderson’s joining the cast in the third season boosted Baywatch’s notoriety and ratings, largely because of Anderson’s sex appeal, and as a result, the series has had a lasting impact on pop culture. She remained with the series for five seasons from 1992 until 1997.
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What is Pamela Anderson's net worth in 2023?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, in 2023 Pamela Anderson has a net worth of $20 million. She has earned this money from her work as a glamour model, actress, television producer, director, author and activist.
Who is richer: Pamela or Tommy?
Pamela Anderson was famously married to M?tley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in the mid-90s. The marriage was infamous for a few reasons. For one, the couple tied the knot after only knowing each other for four days. There was also the tumultuous nature of the relationship, with Lee even being arrested for spousal abuse after assaulting Anderson while she held their infant son, for which he would be sentenced to six months in the Los Angeles County Jail. The couple was married from 1995 until 1998, with the two briefly reconciling around 2008, but breaking up again in 2010.
The marriage may be most famous, however, for the infamous sex tape the couple made on their honeymoon that was then stolen and widely released without their knowledge or permission. This was one of the first celebrity sex tape scandals. The release of the stolen sex tape and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding it took a serious toll on Anderson.
Because of their connection to each other, many people wonder who is richer: Pam or Tommy? As we know, Pamela Anderson has a reported net worth of $20 million in 2023. Meanwhile, her ex-husband, Tommy Lee, has a reported net worth of $70 million. This would mean Tommy is richer, and by a fair amount, largely thanks to touring revenues.
Related: Tim Allen Responds to Pamela Anderson's Claims That He Flashed Her on Home Improvement Set
How much did the Pam and Tommy tape make?
The stolen sex tape, titled Pamela’s Hardcore Sex Video, went on to earn an estimated $77 million in under a year. However, the couple and the man who is credited as stealing the tape, Rand Gauthier, are not the benefactors of these profits.
Gauthier was a former employee of the couple and allegedly stole the tape when he stole a safe from their home as payback for Lee’s refusal to pay him for his services.
Anderson and Lee's son Brandon Thomas Lee says in her Pamela: A Love Story documentary (via Entertainment Tonight), "People made millions of dollars and she was like ‘no’ because she 100% cared about her family being OK and me being OK. I wish she would have made the money. She would have made millions of dollars if she had just signed the paper. Instead, she sat back with nothing and watched her career fizzle into thin air. She was in debt most of her life.”
How much did Pam Anderson make from Barb Wire?
It is not known exactly how much money Pam Anderson was paid to stay in 1996’s Barb Wire. The movie had an estimated budget of $9 million and Anderson was a major TV actress looking for her first big movie project at the time. As a result, we can imagine she was paid in the high hundreds of thousands for the role, maybe as high as $1 million. The movie was a box office disappointment, earning just under $4 million worldwide and the ire of critics.
How much did Pamela make from Baywatch?
When Pamela Anderson joined Baywatch in 1992 for the show’s third season, she was reportedly paid just $1,500 an episode, which would have netted her $33,000 that year. As she rose in popularity, her salary was then raised to $60,000 per episode or $1,320,000 per season. Eventually, at the peak of her star power, Anderson was making $300,000 per episode or $6.6 million per season. All in all, Anderson most likely earned over $10 million—likely a decent chunk more—from the series, not counting bonuses or syndication royalties.
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She later said that the producers of the 2017 Baywatch movie tried to get her to cameo in the film for free. She told Variety, "t was becoming really, really awful. They said they wanted me to do it as a favor. I said, ‘I do favors for animals, not for Paramount.’ There was just so much bullying to do it. They wanted me to do it for free, as an homage or something. I said, ‘Come on, guys. I mean, really?’"
She and the studio eventually came to an agreement in which she had a brief, non-speaking cameo onscreen.
How much did Pam Anderson make per episode?
At the peak of her Baywatch career, Pam Anderson was reportedly making $300,000 per episode. Because she no longer is at the height of her fame, she likely earns slightly less nowadays for her television appearances.
How much did Pam Anderson make from Pam and Tommy?
Pam Anderson had no involvement with the mini-series based on her relationship with ex-husband Tommy Lee, Pam and Tommy. In fact, she has spoken out against the project, saying it brought up trauma she had endured and that the people involved owe her an apology. As you can imagine, this means she did not earn anything from Pam and Tommy.
What does Pamela Anderson do now?
Pamela Anderson is keeping herself busy: Her new memoir Love, Pamela and her Netflix documentary Pamela, A Love Story each dropped on Jan. 31. As a result, she is currently on a press tour promoting these projects.
Related: Where Is Pam Anderson Now? What the Former Baywatch Babe Has Been Up to Since Her Pam and Tommy Days
She has remarried and divorced four times since her marriage to Tommy Lee, most recently marrying her former bodyguard Dan Hayhurts on Christmas Eve 2020 before filing for divorce in January 2022.
She has returned to Vancouver Island, Canada as her main residence between gigs. She runs her own nonprofit, the Pamela Anderson Foundation, which is dedicated to human, animal and environmental rights.
She also recently made her Broadway debut, starring as Roxie Hart in Chicago in 2022.
Next, find out what Pamela Anderson did with her iconic red Baywatch swimsuit.