Pamela Anderson is embracing her natural beauty and inspiring so many others in the process.
The Last Showgirl actress went makeup-free while attending Paris Fashion Week in September 2023. The decision to do so was deeply personal for Anderson after the death of her makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, in 2019 from breast cancer.
“She was the best. And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup,” Anderson told Elle in August 2023.
She further reflected on the bare-faced look she sported at Paris Fashion Week one year later.
“There’s these beautiful clothes. I’m wearing Vivienne Westwood. I have this great hat and beautiful coat. Nobody’s going to notice if I don’t wear any makeup,” Anderson told The Times in November 2024.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ Makeup-Free Selfie Is Inspired by Pamela Anderson
Anderson was praised by fans for her natural appearance during the outing, a reaction she never expected.
“I didn’t realize it was going to start all of this, all these people really relating to me,” she reflected. “It’s a great message — we are good enough just the way we are. I have to remind myself of that every day.”
Since then, she’s continued to go fresh-faced on red carpets and all throughout her July 2025 press tour for The Naked Gun with now-boyfriend Liam Neeson.
Why Pamela Anderson Stopped Wearing Makeup
In addition to honoring Vogel after her death, Anderson explained that going au naturel was a way for her to shatter traditional Hollywood beauty standards.
“I am much more comfortable in my own skin, but I also am in an industry that really focuses on beauty. And I thought, ‘I’m going to challenge beauty,'” Anderson told TODAY.com in November 2023.
She continued, “I think challenging ourselves is what keeps us young and beautiful. And I think, really genuinely, beauty does come from within and you don’t have to play the game.”
Anderson further reflected on challenging beauty ideals while visiting eTalk on CTV in July 2025 ahead of the release of Naked Gun and how it has applied to her work.
“I just wanted to stop playing characters in my personal life, and I wanted to see who I was and see what I really love to do, and I want to play characters in movies. … You can fall into the trappings of these habits that take up so much of your time, and I just started thinking, ‘Why am I doing that?’ Like, ‘What do I have to prove?’ And so even though I don’t know what my next incarnation is going to be, I love glam, I love makeup and it’s just this is where I’m at right now.”
Pamela Anderson Feels ‘Free’ by Not Wearing Makeup
Anderson said that not wearing makeup has felt “freeing and fun, and a little rebellious too.”
“Because I did notice that there were all these people doing big makeup looks, and it’s just like me to go against the grain and do the opposite of what everyone’s doing,” she told Elle in August 2023. “I think we all start looking a little funny when we get older. And I’m kind of laughing at myself when I look at the mirror. I go, ‘Wow, this is really … what’s happening to me?’ It’s a journey.”
While chatting with i-D about her makeup-free Paris Fashion Week look in October 2023, Anderson said her best beauty secret was “Don’t do anything.”
“Wake up, whatever is happening is just happening. It’s all about self-acceptance. This is the chapter of my life I’m trying to embrace now,” she explained. “Well, sometimes it’s challenging, and you just have to understand that you’re good enough and that you are beautiful. I like to say the word life-ing instead of aging, chasing youth is just futile.”
Pamela Anderson Breaks No-Makeup Streak With Full Glam at 2024 Met Gala
Fans Have Praised Pamela Anderson’s Makeup-Free Looks
Anderson’s Instagram is full of photos of herself not wearing any makeup, and fans have continued to praise her and have loved seeing a new side of the Baywatch alum.
“When I was a teenager, I wanted to look like Pamela Anderson when I grew up. Now I’m middle aged, and I still want to look like her – this iconic wise woman version 👏🏻,” one person commented under one of Anderson’s posts in June 2025.
“This woman is serving us all inspiration and guidance on how to age well, keep it real, and be untouchable 🔥🙌❤️,” a second person wrote, while a third person echoed, “Beautiful lady inside and out ❤️.”
Pamela Anderson Wants to ‘Make Sure’ Young Women Feel ‘Confident’
Anderson opened up about her makeup-free looks again in a December 2025 interview with People.
“I remember thinking, ‘Nobody’s even going to notice’ — and people noticed. [Former French Vogue editor] Carine Roitfeld came up to me. She said, ‘I like what you’re doing.’ And I was like, ‘What am I doing?’” she told the outlet.
Anderson continued, “I look like my Instagram photos every day. That’s where it stemmed from, I have all these young women in my life, my sons’ girlfriends, my nieces. I just want to make sure that they feel confident in who they are . . . and to not worry so much. Believe me, it’s a practice.”
The Sonsie skincare founder said she’s still surprised by the public’s response to her decision to go makeup-free.
“People come to me with their daughters and say, ‘Thank you so much for doing this,’” she said. “I’m glad that it had an impact. Who would have thought I would be that girl?”