Pamela Anderson suffered ‘debilitating’ shyness before doing Playboy: ‘Hated the way I looked’

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Pamela Anderson's love life: A look back at her unique and storied romantic history

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Before Pamela Anderson was in the spotlight and had the status as a sex symbol, she confessed she was "painfully shy."

The 55-year-old model admitted it was not until she first posed for Playboy in 1989 that she felt confident to be in her own skin.

"The shyness was something that was so debilitating. When I was little, I would wear a hat over my head and pull the hole closed so I could only see out this much," Anderson told ET Canada during an interview.

"I hated the way I looked, I hated everything. I was so shy, and I always thought everybody was pretty, and I just didn’t have that confidence or self-confidence."

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The 55-year-old model first posed for Playboy in 1989. (Courtesy of Netflix)

The "Baywatch" alum’s comments come on the heels of the release of her tell-all memoir, "Love, Pamela." Anderson additionally released a Netflix documentary, "Pamela, a Love Story."

Pamela Anderson previously said that she will occasionally try on her iconic "Baywatch" red swimsuit. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/ Starstock/Photoshot/Everett Collection URK)

After the blonde bombshell denied Playboy’s multiple requests to work together, she noted that she finally came around to saying yes after she found herself in a situation.

Pamela Anderson, left, and Hugh Hefner during the Hugh Hefner and International Images Launch the Playboy Legacy Collection. (Getty Images)

"[I] thought ‘Why not? Let me try this.’ Then I got to L.A. and I was horrified," Anderson continued. 

Despite being overwhelmed and "scared," the 55-year-old model described how she shook off the nervous feeling and owned her first Playboy photo shoot.

"… I did my first photo shoot with Playboy… it was the first flash when I opened my eyes, and it felt like I was falling off a cliff. It really felt like I was just… allowing, instead of trying to control. And it was my first feeling of freedom," she told the media outlet.

Pamela Anderson released her Netflix documentary, "Pamela, a love story," and her book, "Love, Pamela." (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Netflix)

"Then I was off to the races."

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In January, Anderson spoke candidly about her status as a sex symbol and revealed she never understood the conversation surrounding her appearance.

"I never felt like I was any kind of great beauty, ever, no. Just a little funny-looking," she said on the "Armchair Expert" podcast with Dax Shepard.

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Pamela Anderson, right, had two sons with former husband Tommy Lee, Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger. (S. Granitz/WireImage)

"I can’t wait to see myself old. I always said I’d recognize myself when I was old in the mirror," Anderson told Shepard on her plans to age naturally. "I want to let my hair go kind of natural gray, put my little straw hat on, don’t wear makeup. I mean, that’s my comfortable kind of state."

From left to right, Dylan Jagger Lee, Pamela Anderson and Brandon Thomas Lee pose backstage during the opening night of her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical "Chicago." (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)

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Anderson has two sons, Brandon and Dylan Lee, whom she shares with Tommy Lee. Anderson and Lee were married from 1995 to 1998. 

In Anderson’s Netflix documentary, as well as her memoir, she details her life experiences, starting from childhood. She said her sons took on this project and wanted there to be a "record of truth" out there.