Why Is Pamela Anderson Going Makeup-Free on the Red Carpet?

When you think of a classic Pamela Anderson look, it’s probably something along the lines of platinum blonde hair, a heavy smoky eye, and frosted lipstick with dark lip liner. The Baywatch babe’s iconic beauty is cemented in ’90s history. But over the past two years, Anderson has been sporting a much more toned-down look, and to the surprise of no one, her stunning natural beauty doesn’t need all that makeup to shine through. 

Anderson has a few different reasons for going makeup-free. For one, her longtime close friend and makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, passed away from breast cancer in 2019, and makeup just didn’t feel the same to her afterward. “She was the best,” Anderson told Elle. “And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, it’s just better for me not to wear makeup.”

Then, in 2023, after the publication of her memoir, Love, Pamela: A Memoir, and the release of a subsequent Netflix documentary, Anderson started going to more fashion shows and stepping out on red carpets without makeup, letting her clothes do all the talking. “I didn’t come to Paris Fashion Week and think, I’m not going to wear makeup,” she told Vogue France. “I was dressing in these beautiful clothes and I thought, I don’t want to compete with the clothes.” After decades of being mostly known for her looks, Anderson welcomes the change. “I’m not trying to be the prettiest girl in the room, it’s just freedom; it’s a relief,” she added. 

Anderson’s makeup-free photos have gone viral. “I didn't realize anyone would even notice,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “So then, when people started coming up to me and talking about it, I thought, ‘Well, this is a great message.’” Instead of spending “hours in a makeup chair,” the star focuses on her skin health. Along with her sons Brandon and Dylan, she recently acquired the skin care brand Sonsie. 

The 56-year-old has been asked since her Baywatch days to get into beauty, but she told Vogue this is the first time a brand spoke to her. Sonsie is vegan and cruelty-free (something she’s been advocating for her whole life!), with simple ingredients and a brand ethos that focuses on “accepting yourself where you are right now” instead of things to “fix.”

Anderson’s latest film with Gia Coppola, The Last Showgirl, will hit theaters January 10, 2025, and she’s planning on going makeup-free for red carpet events. It’s fair to say this is a whole new era for Anderson, and we’re absolutely here for it.