Despite having a versatile career full of awards and recognition, the barometer with which Pamela Anderson measures her success is not a shiny trophy, but a well-stocked refrigerator.
The Hollywood icon, 57, opened up about the inspiration behind her new cookbook, I LOVE YOU: Recipes from the Heart, and shared that her adoration for plant-based foods began at a young age.
Anderson, who admitted he didn’t grow up with a lot of fresh produce, recalled the first time cooking piqued his interest, and it all started with a salad.
As she told the Washington Post, Anderson recalled visiting her neighbor’s house when she was about six or seven years old and finding the refrigerator full of whole foods, a surprising change from the refrigerator at home.
“I always thought that the symbol of success is if you can open your refrigerator and it’s already packed,” the actress and model, who grew up on Canada’s Vancouver Island, told the Washington Post.
The former Baywatch star recalled the salad sighting and said it was the first time she really thought about where the food came from.
Pamela Anderson opened up about the inspiration behind her new cookbook, I LOVE YOU: Recipes from the Heart, and shared that her adoration for plant-based foods began at a young age.
“That food doesn’t just come from a grocery store, vegetables don’t just come from a can. I think that was a great realization for me,” he said.
Anderson, who is an avid animal activist, was initially driven to vegetarianism – which later pivoted to veganism – at a young age, admitting that she was driven by her father’s hunting.
He recalled finding a decapitated deer hanging after one of his father’s hunting trips and realizing, with horror, what it really was.
“When I realized it was meat, I was like, ‘I can’t do that,'” he shared.
She added that although her book is vegan, she sees it more as a “celebration” of her love of cooking, her garden and vegetables.
“I also don’t judge other people by how they eat, and that’s why I didn’t really want this to be a typical vegan cookbook, so they moved it to the vegan section of cookbooks,” Anderson said.
‘I just want it to be a celebration of my garden and my vegetables. It just doesn’t leave anyone out of that path.”
The actress, a vegan for almost three decades, was convinced to write a book by her two sons, Brandon, 28, and Dylan, 26, to whom she later dedicated the book.
The Hollywood icon, 57, recalled the first time her cooking piqued her interest and it all started with a salad.
Anderson, who is an avid animal activist, was initially driven to vegetarianism – which later became veganism – at a young age, admitting that she was driven by her father’s hunting.
The actress was convinced to write a book by her two sons, Brandon, 28 (left) and Dylan, 26 (right), to whom she later dedicated the book (pictured in 2023).
“I gave them a box of recipe cards as a housewarming gift with a bunch of recipes,” she explained on Good Morning America.
And of course, Brandon, being the businessman that he is, said, “Mom, this is a cookbook.” And I said, ‘Okay, let’s go ahead and do this,'” he shared.
Last week, Anderson attended the Zurich film festival to present her new film The Last Showgirl and also accepted the Golden Eye award at the Swiss film festival.
While there, he revealed to the starling that he had suffered early bouts of depression “a couple of decades ago.”
I look at it now and feel like I’ve gone from ‘Baywatch’ to Broadway. “I don’t know what happened in the meantime, it’s all a big blur,” he began.
“I’m happy to be here, right now, because I think I’ve had depression for a couple of decades,” he said.
“I never thought I would be on stage receiving an award like that. I just want to keep working. “I’m excited to do more,” she admitted.
Her resurgence began with the 2023 documentary Pamela, A Love Story along with her memoir Love Pamela.
‘Ryan (White) made that documentary and that’s how Gia saw me. “I always knew I was capable of more,” he said.