Pamela Anderson finally is being taken seriously: ‘This is a true gift’

Pamela Anderson is as surprised as anyone.

“The Last Showgirl,” which opens in theaters this week, is the first movie she’s headlined that’s earned more than a bare-bones theatrical release since “Barb Wire” misfired in 1996.

Now Anderson, who became one of the most recognizable women on the planet in the 1990s thanks to the potent combination of “Baywatch” and Playboy, is being taken seriously as a dramatic actor, including being nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of a veteran performer whose life is disrupted when the show she has worked at for 30 years suddenly closes.

“It’s just so fun,” Anderson said of this newfound acclaim. “Who would have thought? I never thought I’d ever be in this position.”

Her return to the spotlight has been one of the awards season’s great feel-good stories. For once in her career, it seems as though much of the public is in her corner. Even the media that dismissed her early and often has been mostly kind.

“I actually have people jumping out of their cars on street corners to give me a hug. Like, ‘You can do this!’” Anderson said, laughing. “I guess I’m doing this for everybody. This is great.”

“Le Razzle Dazzle,” the show depicted in the movie, has seen better days. It’s the last show of its kind in Las Vegas. The dancers outnumber the paying customers. Those who bother to see it often appear disinterested.

“This,” Anderson said, “is breasts and rhinestones and joy!”

Maybe if “Le Razzle Dazzle” had used that quote in its advertising, the show wouldn’t have to close.

In any event, Anderson’s character, Shelly, has been with the show since its glory days. Back then, showgirls were treated like movie stars. Now, though, prospective employers aren’t beating down the door looking for dancers in their 50s with no other discernible skills.

Shelly’s entire identity is wrapped up in “Le Razzle Dazzle.” Unlike younger dancers Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), she can’t — or won’t — see that the show is a shadow of its former self.

That may sound sad, but Anderson saw it as a hopeful story. Shelly’s at a crossroads, she said, and she’ll find a way to reinvent herself, whatever it takes.

“I’ve been there,” Anderson said.

She told People magazine that her now-former agent turned down “The Last Showgirl” without showing it to her. The script only made its way to her after director Gia Coppola (granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola) tracked down her son, Brandon Thomas Lee, who works in Hollywood.

“It was so touching,” Anderson said of the script. “I know a lot of Shellys. And I thought, I just really feel strongly that I know where to take this. All the nuances and layers of emotion and guilt and shame about [being] a working mother, and a mother in this industry, and the objectification.”

To prepare for the role, she spent time with former showgirls.

“Everything influenced me,” Anderson said of her time with them. “The showgirl walk, the showgirl grace, carrying themselves with such grace. Their stories. I was so grateful that I got to tell those stories in the film, too.”

It’s safe to say the scripts she’s being sent will continue to get better thanks to “The Last Showgirl.” Finally, at the age of 57, she has earned the industry’s respect.

“I’m very grateful for it. And I didn’t expect it. And maybe that’s what makes it even sweeter,” Anderson said. “This is a true gift.”