Pamela Anderson: beachcomber, cartoon heroine, tabloid favorite and crusader—not bad for a Malibu pinup queen

Despite her Canadian roots, Pamela Anderson is the prototypical California girl--with the hair, the voice, and especially the body, to prove it. But we already know about the body. She's graced the cover of Playboy more than any other woman in history (10 times), and now the life of Pamela Anderson, sex symbol, is changing. Her revelations about her battle with hepatitis C, as well as a difficult custody battle over her two children with ex-husband Tommy Lee--one that's helped to make her an advocate for women's rights--has transformed the world's favorite lifeguard from pinup girl to crusader. Or maybe it's just that she's always been a little bit--make that a whole lot--of both.

SARA SWITZER: Hi, Pamela, how are you?

PAMELA ANDERSON: I'm good. Life as a single mom--I'm rushing from summer camp, coming home, making beds; I'm running all over the place. So if I sound out of breath that's why. I mean, it's always something. Baseball, surfing, karate ... and that's just today.

SS: [laughs] What's your favorite thing about being a mom?

PA: Everything. I'm an ubermother. [laughs] I'm involved in everything. I love to cook, and I'm teaching my kids how to cook. It's really fun. I'm actually writing a vegetarian cookbook for kids. What I love most about being a mom is that I am able to sit here with these two miracles and watch them grow up. I guide them, but really I'm just along for the ride.

SS: How's L.A.?

PA: It's beautiful. It's really gorgeous today--already clear, not foggy at all.

SS: When you were a little girl in Canada did you dream of moving to California?

PA: Oh yeah. I think everybody does. Especially in Canada, where I was from, it seemed like everyone wanted to come to California.

SS: Why?

PA: It's the weather, I think. When you live in a place like Vancouver Island, where it rains a lot, the grass is always greener. Now that I'm here, I like Canada more than I used to.

SS: You do?

PA: Vancouver Island is gorgeous, absolutely beautiful, and I miss the seasons. Here, I don't know what I do in a year--it's just one big blur--whereas back home I'd know what I did last fall, last spring, last winter. In California, you're on the beach at Christmas. In a bikini. [laughs]

SS: What's your ideal day in Los Angeles?

PA: Well, first of all, I don't live in L.A. I'm in Malibu. [laughs] I don't go over the hill that often, and when I do it's like you put your armor on, go out there, do what you've got to do, and get back to the beach. After I talk to you I'm going to walk my dogs for a couple miles on the beach. I've got a golden retriever who's 12 but like a puppy, and then I have this little rescue dog that talks to me the entire time we walk. He's funny. We don't know what he is.

SS: You've been through a lot in the past year. You're in the middle of a custody battle at the moment, right?

PA: I'm at the end of it. I feel so bad for people who are [involved in these cases], and don't have the funds that I do--I've spent $500,000 dollars so far. In the research I've done for my own case--about domestic violence and how it's so typical, and the tactics used against women--I've learned about how unfairly women are treated in the court system. It's a real problem.

SS: What did it feel like for you to go public with the fact that you have hepatitis C?

PA: Well, someone else made it public for me. We don't know who, but it got to the press. They made it into a real negative, saying that I got it from breast implants, something sensational that the tabloids would pick up on. It's so stupid. I didn't want to seem irresponsible, and plus, I can't lie, so when someone asked me, I said, "I have it, but I'm being treated." I'm taking care of my life. I look after myself and, no matter what people think, I'm a very healthy person. I am not this raving drunk, drug addict, crazy person--that's just an image created by the media. And it's crap. I happen to be a cheap drunk. If I have a glass of wine, I'm on my ear.

SS: How are you feeling now?

PA: I feel good. I'm really healthy. They rate a liver from zero to four. Zero is a healthy liver, and I'm a one. They said it was a miracle that my liver is as healthy as it is. So they said, "Keep doing what you're doing."

SS: I understand that you were going to start more aggressive treatment in December but you've decided to wait?

PA: I have a type of hepatitis C that is easily treatable, and my doctor told me that he wants to wait. If I did have to be treated right away, I would jump into it. I was ready for December. I was like, "You know what? I don't care if I lose my hair. I don't care if I am sick. I want to get this out of my body and get on with the rest of my life!"

SS: It's wonderful that you've chosen to take your experience public. As a popular figure, you have a tremendous amount of power, and it's helpful to put the information out there.

PA: Well, it's nice because there are so many more people getting tested for hepatitis now. UCLA (Medical Center] called and said there are something like four times the amount of people coming in to be tested since I went public.