Pamela Anderson's Netflix documentary will "Tell the Real Story"

Pamela Anderson is the latest cultural icon to get the Netflix documentary treatment.

The Baywatch actress will be the subject of Pamela, A Love Story, an intimate look into her career and personal life arriving on the streamer this month-end. The film, which received exclusive access to Anderson, will include never-before-seen archival footage and excerpts from her journals as the star opens up about her romantic history, her relationship with her children, and her starring role in Broadway’s Chicago.

The film was confirmed last March, with Anderson herself sharing the news on Instagram with a handwritten letter describing herself as, "Not a victim, but a survivor, alive to tell the real story." The doc's premiere is also timed with the same-day release of the star's HarperCollins memoir Love, Pamela.

Pamela, A Love Story premieres on January 31, 2023.

Per the Netflix synopsis, the documentary will be "an intimate and humanising portrait of one of the world’s most famous blonde bombshells. Pamela, A Love Story follows the trajectory of Pamela Anderson’s life and career from small town girl to international sex symbol, actress, activist and doting mother."

In a Vanity Fair interview, Good Night Oppy documentarian Mike White, who also directed the Netflix doc, shared that Anderson shared decades of home movies and journals with the documentary team, approaching the project as an open book. "From the very beginning, she was like, ‘You can ask me anything. I will talk about anything. I will be nothing but honest with you about it all," he told the outlet.

The doc will include Anderson's reaction to Pam & Tommy.

White has also confirmed that the doc will include the Canadian star's response to the Hulu series Pam & Tommy, which was made without her approval. The star has yet to publicly comment on the show, which was based on the saga of the intimate tape which was stolen from her home with ex-husband Tommy Lee in 1996.

"The infamous stolen tape, which we’re always very careful to call 'the stolen tape' and not 'sex tape', was just one of hundreds of hours that they filmed," the director said.

The film will include Anderson's response to learning about the Hulu series' production, which incited a "painful aftershock of trauma". The star spoke on her decision to finally address the stolen tape and subsequent trauma once and for all.

"Nobody knew the truth—even I don’t know 100% of what happened, but I think what is most important is to share my human feelings, and how much it hurt and how it undeniably defined me moving forward—in my career and my relationships," she told the outlet.

Anderson doesn't intend to watch the film herself.

After opening up so much in the filming process, Anderson told Vanity Fair that she doesn't currently have plans to watch the completed film. "The documentary I haven’t seen, and I have no intention of seeing. I gave full access to my archives and diaries, and I hope that through full transparency, it makes sense to somebody," she told the outlet.

She also spoke with Tudum about her involvement in the film, saying that taking control of her story was a necessary step toward sharing her most unfiltered self with the world. "I was very hesitant, but looking back, I feel empowered," she said. "And I hope that [my story] inspires people to have a great fucking time and not worry so much."

This piece originally appeared in Harper's Bazaar US