Pamela Anderson has the BC Lions to thank for kicking off her rise to Hollywood stardom.
The Vancouver Island native recalled how she was discovered during an interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show on Tuesday.
Anderson was 21 years old when she attended a Canadian Football League game at BC Place in 1989, wearing a Labatt’s crop top. The Ladysmith, BC, native was reportedly one of the 27,436 fans in Vancouver who attended an August 15, 1989, Lions game against the Toronto Argonauts.
She caught the eye of the cameraman, who put her on the big screen at the game. That led to a gig with Labatt’s as a “beer girl,” which soon led to a famed acting and modelling career. Anderson appeared on Married with Children in 1990 and had a recurring role on Home Improvement (1991-1993) before starring on Baywatch (1992-1997). She also made a name for herself by appearing on the cover of Playboy a record 14 times.
Pamela Anderson appeared in beer ads for Labatt after her big break at a BC Lions game (Labatt)
Locals may know the story of her big break, which has been told before. It was also detailed in the 2023 Netflix documentary Pamela, a Love Story. That’s how Fallon and many others found out about it.
“I was at a football game,” Anderson told Fallon on The Tonight Show. “I was at a BC Lions game, and I had a Labatt’s T-shirt on and the cameraman zoomed in on me and put me up on the Jumbotron… and then people called and Playboy called and I came to LA.
“It was my first plane ride.”
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