The 59-year-old actor reveals she dresses herself for events, drawing inspiration from Fellini films and Italian cinema across a packed month of premieres and f
A month of transformations
Pamela Anderson has spent September moving between film festivals and fashion weeks, building a wardrobe that channels Italian cinema without the help of a stylist. The 59-year-old attended the Venice Film Festival premiere of *Place to Be* on September 9, followed by New York Fashion Week and Vogue World Milan on September 22, wearing looks from Monse, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Miu Miu, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Khaite, Ferragamo, and Magda Butrym.
Anderson told the interviewer: "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." The through line connecting every outfit, she explained, was the work of Federico Fellini. "I thought of Fellini," she said. "How would I get his attention to put me in a film? Maybe it's all an audition."
Her Venice wardrobe included three festival looks—one by Monse and two by Carolina Herrera inspired by "the colors of the sunset"—plus Oscar de la Renta for a Golden Globes party, Miu Miu for a brand dinner, and Calvin Klein for the amfAR Gala, where she was honored. In New York, she co-hosted the Kering Caring for Women Dinner in Gucci, sat front row at shows for Calvin Klein, Khaite, and Carolina Herrera, and attended the Hublot x Jeff Koons launch in Magda Butrym.
Director Gia Coppola has called Anderson "the Marilyn of our time," a comparison the actor acknowledged while distinguishing her own path. "My style has always been on purpose," she said. "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."
Anderson described her red carpet approach as cinematic: "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?" She cited Jeff Koons calling her a performance artist and friends saying Andy Warhol would have loved her as "the greatest compliment."
Her preparation for acting has been unorthodox. She has studied with Ivana Chubbuck on and off for over three decades, sat in the back row at The Actors Studio without participating, and done voice, improv, and dance lessons. She appeared in Tennessee Williams's *Camino Real* at Williamstown summer theater alongside Juilliard students. "I've always surrounded myself with artists, misfits, the Hollywood wild ones and by osmosis became one," she said.
For *Place to Be*, she worked with Ellen Burstyn, whom she called "the queen." She was watching Ingmar Bergman's *Autumn Sonata* during filming and found it "exhilarating" when compared to a Bergman actress. Her dream role, she revealed, would be "a romantic European drama."
Despite the busy schedule, Anderson maintains routines for grounding: morning writing, gardening, and baking sourdough. She described herself as "consistently inconsistent" and admitted to social anxiety. "I'm actually quite shy," she said. "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." She added: "I just go into things feeling my awkward feelings. It's brave. It takes courage. And it's never seamless when it's honest."
Anderson traced her detachment from others' approval to age four. She has studied Carl Jung since her teenage years and every Bergman film. "I'm not sure where dreams end and life begins," she said. "I am imagining my life as it comes."