Pamela Anderson Reacts to Oscar Snub for “The Last Showgirl”: It Was 'Not Something I Ever Expected'
The film marked a critical breakthrough for the 57-year-old actress, who got her start as a 'Baywatch' lifeguard in the '90s
The film marked a critical breakthrough for the 57-year-old actress, who got her start as a 'Baywatch' lifeguard in the '90s TheStewartofNY/GC Images Pamela Anderson:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Pamela-Anderson-makeup-free-010825-tout-2a369a71801b4cdfbe6b1300b8842f0b.jpg "Pamela Anderson is seen wearing Chanel arriving at Live with Kelly & Mark in the Upper West Side on January 08, 2025 in New York City.")
Pamela Anderson is unfazed by missing out on a nomination at the 2025 Oscars.
As Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott announced the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards on Thursday morning, the actress’ name was missing from the list — despite the critical praise and prior nominations she had amassed for her leading role in The Last Showgirl. But Anderson wasn’t phased by the snub.
“Oh my gosh, it’s not something I ever expected. Doing the work is the win,” the star told ELLE 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.”
In The Last Showgirl, Anderson, 57, starred opposite recent Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, playing an aging Las Vegas performer whose future becomes uncertain when she learns that her French-style revue is closing after three decades. The film marked a triumphant critical breakthrough for Anderson, who rose to stardom as a bombshell blonde lifeguard in the ’90s series Baywatch but had long been excluded from awards conversations.
She had even garnered several promising nods earlier in the awards season — nabbing nominations at the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes — making her Oscar miss all the more surprising. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic Pamela Anderson
“I couldn’t imagine [it] anyway,” Anderson told ELLE of an Oscar nomination. “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.”
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Her most recent snub aside, Anderson has said that the success of the film has an additional resonance to her in the wake of the 2022 Hulu series Pam & Tommy series, which dramatized her relationship with ex-husband Tommy Lee and their 1995 scandal surrounding a stolen homemade sex tape.
During an appearance on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live, the actress and activist said that she “didn't have any involvement” in the production of the series — calling it “strange” and “hurtful.”
"I mean, it's just one of those things. It happened and now I'm here, and so this is the best payback,” Anderson said of her Last Showgirl success. “I'm being seen and recognized for my work and not these tawdry moments." Andrew Chin/Getty Pamela Anderson
And Anderson has been championed throughout the promotional campaign for the film by Curtis — who told PEOPLE at the movie’s premiere that she only joined the project because Anderson held the lead role.
“I think she is a transcendent creature,” said the actress on the red carpet. “I love the way she is walking through the B.S. of show business and saying, ‘I do not need to play your game.’ And I respect her for it so deeply.”
