What Is Pamela Anderson’s Net Worth? It’s Complicated: Here’s How She’s Made Her Money

You know you’ve made a name for yourself when Hulu creates a series based on you and it’s followed up by your own Netflix documentary. British actress Lily James portrayed pop culture icon Pamela Anderson in last year’s hit “Pam & Tommy” miniseries, which follows the meeting and unconventional love story of the “Baywatch” star and Mötley Crüe drummer.

“Pamela, A Love Story” debuted on Netflix on Jan. 31. In the documentary, she revealed that she never leveraged her name for significant financial value throughout her career. So, what is Pamela Anderson‘s net worth? It’s complicated. Here’s how she has made her money over the years.

Canadian-born Anderson is best known for her appearances in various television shows over the years and has been featured on the cover of “Playboy” magazine 14 times, which is more than anybody else in the magazine’s history. It all started when she appeared on the October 1989 cover of Hugh Hefner’s iconic publication. She was then chosen as the magazine’s “Playmate of the Month” in February 1990, receiving a centerfold spread in the issue. Moreover, her most notable acting role was C.J. Parker on the hit “Baywatch” in the ’90s. Anderson took on the role for five seasons from 1992 and 1997.

What is Pamela Anderson’s Net Worth?

So, what is Anderson’s net worth? While the answer isn’t exactly straightforward without access to private financial records, Celebritynetworth.com, a popular site that estimates the net worth of stars, claims her net worth is $20 million. “Our data is rooted in financial analysis, market research, and inside sources that we have meticulously developed over the last decade to maintain accuracy and breadth of knowledge,” reported the site, which explained how it determines celebrity net worth, adding that each estimate is formed by taking into account the celebrity’s known salaries, real estate holdings, royalties and endorsements. The site also employs a “proprietary” formula that excludes estimated taxes, manager’s fees, agent fees and lifestyle expenses. Even so, Pamela Anderson’s net worth is hard to accurately determine.

How Has Pamela Anderson Made Her Money?

Pamela Anderson‘s career took off with her “Playboy” cover in 1989 and continued to model for the magazine throughout a span of 22 years. In a 2014 interview with TMZ, Playmate of the Year Kennedy Summers said the title earns $100,000, plus a car. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Playmate of the Month pays $25,000. It’s unclear how much money Anderson earned during her early days posing for the magazine, which has helped contribute to her net worth through the assets she’s been able to accumulate over the years. Even so, posing for the magazine can be lucrative and leveraged for larger money-making opportunities. After her debut with Playboy, she appeared in various guest-starring roles on sitcoms throughout the ’90s, including “Home Improvement,” which helped introduce her as a mainstream actress. Still, her big break was playing a Los Angeles lifeguard on “Baywatch.” The show catapulted her into the limelight, making her a household name. At the high of the show’s popularity, Anderson was believed to be paid a reported $300,000 per episode, which equates to about $6.6 million per season if the salary estimate is correct.

Anderson also starred in the film “Barb Wire” in 1996, a year before “Baywatch” ended. From there, she went on to star in four seasons of the TV series “V.I.P.” from 1998 to 2002 and two seasons of a workplace sitcom, “Stacked,” starting in 2005. She also appeared in “Scary Movie” and the “Baywatch” film in 2017 alongside stars like The Rock, Zac Efron and Priyanka Chopra. Furthermore, Anderson has penned four autobiographical books and two novels.

In the 2020’s, Anderson has faced a larger career revival. Coinciding with the 2022 Hulu drama series “Pam & Tommy” (which she had no part in creating, but brought back heightened media attention), Anderson starred as Roxy Hart in “Chicago” on Broadway. Following her onstage role, she released the hit documentary “Pamela, a Love Story” on Netflix and her latest memoir “Love, Pamela,” which became a #1 seller on Amazon upon its release.

Near the end of “Pamela, a Love Story,” Anderson stated that she has no money, due to her not earning much and not being skilled at leveraging her work value. In the film, she also states she never made money off of her infamous sex tape with Tommy Lee; though the tape was illegally obtained from her home and released without her consent in 1996, it’s estimated the recording made $77 million within its first year available to the public, according to News Daily.

See more of Anderson’s striking ’90s style.