Pamela Anderson Humbly Addresses Oscar Snub: ‘Doing the Work Is the Win’
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Pamela Anderson almost had it. Following her buzz-worthy performance in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, she garnered lead actress nominations for the Golden Globes, Gotham Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards—but not for the Oscars. When the Academy Award nominations were announced this morning, her name was notably missing from the list, and so were The Last Showgirl and Coppola altogether.
Anderson, however, wasn’t holding her breath for a nod. “Oh my gosh, it’s not something I ever expected. Doing the work is the win,” she tells ELLE.com hours after the announcement. “That’s what I like to do, and I think we can lose sight of that sometimes in this whole crazy awards season, but it’s nice to be recognized, and it’s all a bonus.”
She adds, “I couldn’t imagine [it] anyway. I’m happy for the SAG nomination, that’s [voted on by] your peers. That’s really cool. This has been a long road promoting this film.”
In the movie, Anderson stars as Shelley, a Las Vegas showgirl who debates her next move when her long-running act must come to a close. The film was met with critical praise following its premiere at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival, with many calling it a career-best performance for the former Baywatch and Barb Wire star. It’s a satisfying comeback for Anderson, now 57, who rose to fame in the ’90s after being featured in Playboy but was written off as a sex symbol and not taken seriously as an actress. Anderson herself said that the awards buzz felt like “the best payback,” especially after her life and former relationship with Tommy Lee were portrayed in a “hurtful” way in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy series in 2022. “It happened, and now I’m here, and this is the best payback,” she told Andy Cohen in a Sirius XM interview. “I’m being seen and recognized for my work and not these tawdry moments.”
The Last Showgirl is now playing in theaters.
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