Pamela Anderson Recalls Being Neighbors with Barbie Creator Ruth Handler and the Gift She Once Gave Her

"I resonated more with 'Barbarella,' or maybe 'Barb Wire,' than Barbie," she joked

Pamela Anderson is a longtime Barbie girl.

In an interview with Elle, the Baywatch alum and former Playboy model recalled being gifted "one of the first Barbies" by the inventor herself, who lived near her at one point.

“Ruth Handler actually gave me one of the first Barbies. She was a neighbor. It was the first platinum Barbie, in a red bathing suit,” recalled Anderson, 56, who made waves as the red-swimsuit-sporting character C.J. Parker on Baywatch in the 1990s.

Despite her resemblance to the doll, in reality, “I resonated more with Barbarella, or maybe Barb Wire, than Barbie,” Anderson joked, name-dropping characters made famous on film by Jane Fonda and herself, respectively.

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Related: All About Ruth Handler's Daughter and Son, After Whom Barbie and Ken Were Named

Anderson also recalled in her interview with Elle a helpful saying about image that she used to hear regularly from another fellow famous blonde.

"That was a great expression that Suzanne Somers told me. She used to always say, ‘Hi, dumb blonde.’ Meanwhile, she’s a gazillionaire, doing all these great things," the Love, Pamela author said.

During her own career, Anderson said, she "always thought it was fun to not have anything to live up to, because you could only surprise people."

"So it was to my advantage sometimes ... and if people didn’t want to look at you as an intelligent person, because you looked a certain way? I think we’ve grown past that, hopefully," she said.

Related: Pamela Anderson Says Strangers Apologize and Tell Her 'I Like You Now' After Reading Her Memoir

Anderson's comments about the gift given to her by Handler, who died in 2002, come during the massive success of Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie, in which Rhea Perlman plays the late Barbie creator and Mattel co-owner.

Less than a month after it opened in theaters, the adventure-comedy had raked in $537.5 million at the North American box office as of Wednesday, unseating The Dark Knight to become Warner Bros. Pictures' biggest domestic theatrical release of all time, Variety reported.

Margot Robbie, who plays the titular doll, also produced Barbie with her company LuckyChap Entertainment, which previously produced Birds of Prey and the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman. Robbie's husband Tom Ackerley is also a producer on the film, as well as David Heyman and Mattel Films Executive Producer Robbie Brenner.

Barbie's success has prompted Mattel, the toy company that owns the Barbie brand, to plan to adapt 14 additional Mattel properties for the silver screen, including a Polly Pocket movie directed by Lena Dunham and starring Lily Collins.

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