Former model Pamela Anderson inspired actors Drew Barrymore and Valerie Bertinelli to ditch their makeup during a recent episode of Barrymore's eponymous talk show.
Anderson is famous for her role as lifeguard "C.J." Parker on the popular TV drama Baywatch, which cemented her sex symbol status after being selected as the 1990 Playboy Playmate of the Month.
Barrymore had encouraged the studio audience and her show’s lifestyle expert Bertinelli that day to appear sans cosmetics for the "Bare is Beautiful" edition of the talk show.
The episode was inspired by Anderson's permanent ditching of wearing makeup since her viral appearance at last year's Paris Fashion Show.
Before Anderson made her entrance, Barrymore and Bertinelli scrubbed off their makeup in front of the cameras to participate in "solidarity" with the episode's "au natural" theme.
The host introduced Anderson as a leader for the movement, in which people can reinvent themselves and thrive in different chapters of their lives.
"You've been doing this for a couple of years now and I really think you own this space," Barrymore told Anderson, adding:
"I think you're the pioneer of what we're certainly doing here today. It's a big honor."
Impressed by all the beautiful, makeup-free faces of everyone in the studio, Anderson commented:
“Isn’t it freeing? Doesn’t it feel free? I feel free."
“I mean, it’s taken a while too. I’ve had my little, you know, journey with it, but we all are our own worst critics.”
When Bertinelli asked when Anderson started feeling comfortable about dialing back on glamming it up on the red carpet, the 56-year-old said the defining moment was at the 2023 Paris Fashion Week from September 25 to October 3.
Anderson previously told Elle magazine in August 2023 that she stopped routinely wearing makeup at public appearances after her longtime make-up artist Alexis Vogel had passed away.
"She was the best," said Anderson of her late friend, adding, "And since [her death] I just felt it's just better for me not to wear makeup."
She doubled-down on her decision and explained to Barrymore and Bertinelli:
“I decided [if] I was just going to a fashion show, I didn’t need to compete with anybody."
"Like, why am I wasting three hours in a makeup chair when I have these beautiful Vivienne Westwood clothes on.”
“I didn’t realize anyone would even notice."
She added:
“So then, when people started coming up to me and talking about it, I thought, ‘Well, this is a great message.’ You know, to really peel it back and find out who I was again. I wanted to remember who I was.”
Social media users praised the barefaced movement.
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Anderson realized who she was at the core once she started focusing on herself over time.
"I found I played characters my whole life," she said.
"I was painfully shy as a kid, and doing Playboy for instance was a huge leap of faith for me. I was physically sick doing it, but I didn't want to be shy anymore."
"And then I just thought, this is what my fantasy of what being a model is, or a Playmate is, or a rockstar wife is, or what anything is, I'm going to do it the best."
"And I'd been playing these characters along the way, and it just hit me a couple years ago, and I was like, just shaking my head going, 'Who am I?' "
She also shared that she bought and renovated her grandmother's property in Canada, and the experience allowed her to spend more time with nature and find herself again.
"I just started taking it all back and then started peeking out without makeup, and then I started realizing, 'Oh, I feel great!' As me," she recalled, adding:
"And I don't want people to think of me as all those cartoon characters I kind of created out of protection. That's what I think I did it for, looking back."
She concluded by summarizing her current situation.
"This is the best time in my life."
"I feel so empowered and so free, and so excited about life again."
A memorable highlight occurred as Barrymore commented on how empowering going make-up-free was and demonstrated another symptom of going through menopause—losing hair.
"Sorry, if we're gonna be honest here..." Barrymore remarked as she took the au naturel theme a step further by removing her hair extensions. The bold move elicited praise and excitement from her guest and studio audience.
The topic then transitioned to skincare, to which Anderson has recently shifted her focus.
In January 2024, she and her sons Brandon and Dylan acquired the vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand Sonsie.
“I felt like, I wanna get into this game because I wanna make sure that people put their skincare on with intention; I love affirmations," she told the hosts.
"I love the whole self-love and empowerment. This is the right time in my life to walk the talk.”
She shared the love by giving the studio audience members samples of Sonsie moisturizing cream.
You can watch the entire segment from The Drew Barrymore Show, here.
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