During the height of her career, Pamela Anderson shared a bitter-sweet relationship with the film and television industry. The media capitalized on the tempestuous nature of her private and personal life, rife with lawsuits, scandals, and divorces. In recent times, there's been a plethora of high-profile celebrity divorces, which usually end with the wealthier and more established partner, male or female, paying a hefty price.
This was precisely what happened with Anderson, whose inexperience with fame, fortune, and love, led her to make a series of wrong decisions, which included being married and divorced five times. Let's delve into how each of Pamela Anderson's divorces impacted her net worth.
Pamela Anderson is a Canadian-born actress, model, and television personality who came to America and garnered international fame after appearing as the cover girl of Playboy magazine. However, she attained superstar status when she began appearing in the Baywatch series in 1992, which would last for five seasons until 1997. She was paid a salary of $1,500 per episode for her first season, but thereafter, she was one of the highest-paid TV actresses of her time by earning $300,000 per episode.
Besides doing cover photos for Playboy and reprising her role in Baywatch, Pamela Anderson also tried her luck in the entertainment film industry. Her debut film, called Barb Wire, was released in 1996, but bombed terribly at the box office, grossing only $3.8 million against a $9 million budget. She also starred in the 1994 action thriller, Raw Justice, which grossed over $35 million worldwide. By the time she met Tommy Lee in 1995, she was worth $30 million and, over the years, her other film and television appearances have helped her maintain most of her fortune. Here are some of the financial milestones of her career, according to Celebrity Net Worth:
Income Sources | Total Income Earned |
---|---|
Baywatch Series | $6.6 million |
Playboy Magazine Covers | $20,000 to $450,000 |
Malibu Beach House Rental | $50,000 per month |
Sale of Malibu Beach House | $11.8 million |
Pamela Anderson's relationship with Tommy Lee began in 1995 after she met the Motley Crue drummer at a Hollywood club on New Years Eve in 1994. She moved into his home in Malibu, California shortly after. Reports suggest that the couple filed a $10 million lawsuit against one of Lee's employees for stealing Tommy Lee's safe. The stolen safe, which contained Lee and Anderson's infamous sex tape, in revenge for firing him. It's not clear how much Anderson contributed to the lawsuit, but it could be anywhere north of $5 million.
What's for certain is that Pamela Anderson lost millions because of the lawsuit. It was also reported that Lee once spent $400 on sex toys for Anderson. But their marriage came to an end in 1998 following a domestic dispute that landed Lee in jail for six months on charges of spousal abuse. It's estimated that Lee also paid her $1-2 million in divorce settlements, which was inclusive of child support.
Pamela Anderson's marriage to singer and rapper Kid Rock is one of the shortest engagements in her marriage portfolio. After her on-and-off relationship with Tommy Lee, which led to their second split in 2001, the Baywatch alumni decided to give love a try shortly after, this time with Kid Rock. But the brief marriage ended within four months, causing Lee to pay around $1 million as part of a divorce settlement.
RelatedAfter reportedly meeting at a VHI tribute to Aretha Franklin in 2001, Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock were first spotted out together that same year. By April 2002, the couple announced that they were engaged after Rock proposed to her in Las Vegas. However, things appeared to have fallen through the cracks when Anderson began hinting at their separation the following summer. But despite spending years apart, they reunited on a friend's yacht in July 2006 and proclaimed their love for each other. By the end of the same month, they were married, and on November 27, 2006, Anderson filed for divorce.
A little over a year after her divorce from Kid Rock, Pamela Anderson decided to take her 17-year friendship with Paris Hilton's ex, Rick Salamon, to the next level. While playing a poker game in Sin City, reports state that Salomon made a deal with Anderson to give him a kiss in order to clear the $250,000 she owed him for the game. She agreed to his proposal, and the rest was history. They tied the knot at The Mirage in Las Vegas, only to separate and have the marriage annulled two months later. After taking a 6-year hiatus, the two remarried in January 2014, only to divorce once again in December 2015.
According to The Mirror, Pamela Anderson received just north of $1 million in divorce settlements. Rick Salamon was just one of Paris Hilton's many exes, but he was best known for making the infamous 2004 sex tape, 1 Night in Paris, with her. Perhaps the sex tape history that Anderson and Salomon shared ignited their passion for each other, but that spark was short-lived.
Pamela Anderson waited another five years before getting into a new relationship in 2020 with film producer Jon Peters. But although their relationship timeline tops the list as her shortest marriage on record, lasting just 12 days, Anderson's history with Peters predates all her other relationships. According to Peters, he first met Anderson in the mid-1980s at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion when she was 19, and they dated briefly after their encounter.
Fast-forward to 2020, 52-year-old Pamela Anderson and 75-year-old Jon Peters revealed that they were married on January 20, only to announce their split on February 1. However, Anderson confirmed that no legal marriage documents were signed, so technically, they weren't married. But, ironically, the Scary Movie actress could stand to gain the most out of this relationship than the rest. Peters, who is now 78 years old, said, "I will always love Pamela... As a matter of fact, I left her $10 million in my will." So, once he keels over, there's a cool $10 million waiting with her name on it.
Like a scene out of a classic Whitney Houston film, Pamela Anderson's most recent husband happened to be her home contractor and bodyguard. Anderson reportedly met her fourth (official) husband, Dan Hayhurst, in 2020 while he was doing renovations to her home in Vancouver Island, Canada. The two struck up a romance and got married on Christmas Eve 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, being quarantined together for extensive periods took its toll on the newly-weds, and Pamela Anderson's romantic fire eventually fizzled out. They divorced after 13 months of marriage, after realizing that they had very little in common. While there aren't reports confirming a price, it's believed that Hayhurst paid an estimated $1 million in divorce settlements.
Here's a recap of how Pamela Anderson's divorces have impacted her net worth, according to Wealthy Genius:
Ex-husband | Relationship Timeline | Divorce Settlement |
---|---|---|
Tommy Lee | 1994-1998 | $1-2 million |
Kid Rock | 2002-2006 | $1 million |
Rick Salomon | 2007-2008/2014-2015 | $1 million |
Jon Peters | 01/20/2020-02/01/2020 | $10 million |
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