Pamela Anderson rose to fame in 1990 as a sizzling centerfold in Playboy Magazine and then as the bodacious, bathing suit-clad beauty CJ Parker on Baywatch. She also earned notoriety in her role as Lisa in Home Improvement, and her status as a sex symbol solidified throughout the 1990s. An icon of beauty and sexuality, Pamela Anderson seems almost larger than life, a shorthand for sex appeal and the object of many men's teenaged fantasies.

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It's easy to forget that she's a person, just like anyone else, and, like anyone else, she has her share of troubles and tribulations from her past. Before she was the Pamela Anderson we know today, she was just a little girl growing up in the small town of Ladyship, British Columbia, and the stories she tells about her early life paint a complicated picture of her formative years. Here's what we know about Pamela Anderson's life growing up in a small town.

9 She Was Hailed As A 'Centennial Baby'

Born on July 1st, 1967, Pamela Anderson got some regional media press as a 'centennial baby.' Her birth fell on Canada Day, which marks the anniversary of the confederation of Canada. She was the first baby born on the 100th anniversary of the Confederation, hence her designation as a centennial baby. Earning notoriety just for being born suggests she was always destined for fame!

8 Her Family Didn't Have Much Money

Pamela Anderson's mom Carol worked as a waitress, while her dad Barry was a funeral repairman. Though her mom and dad were loving and supportive to Pamela and her younger brother, the family didn't have much money, and Barry was an alcoholic. Carol worked two jobs to keep the family afloat, but things were never really stable at home.

7 She Experienced Abuse From A Babysitter

Tragically, Pamela Anderson suffered from sexual abuse at the hands of a female babysitter, a fact she only revealed in interviews in 2014. She explains that the babysitter molested her from the time she was six years old to the time she was ten. When the babysitter died in a car accident, she thought she was responsible, since the abuse led to Pamela wishing the babysitter would die.

6 She Was Assaulted By Acquaintances And Even Her Boyfriend

Pamela Anderson suffered numerous assaults, something no person should have to bear. When she was just 12, she was raped by a friend's boyfriend's older brother who was 25 years old. Two years later, at 14, by her boyfriend and six of his friends. It is this tragic history that led her to launch the Pamela Anderson Foundation, which supports a wide variety of animal and human rights causes, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

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5 She Developed An Early Love For Animals

In interviews Pamela Anderson has described a formative experience during her teen years that led to adopting vegetarianism and later to her charity and activism work with PETA and other animal rights organizations. She had walked in on her father cleaning the carcass of an animal he'd hunted, and from that day on, Pamela didn't eat meat and began her work as an animal activist.

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4 She Was Quite Plain-Looking As A Kid

Her name has become synonymous with the busty bleach blonde sex appeal she peddled in the 1990s, but prior to her success as a model, Pamela Anderson was actually quite plain. With straight brown hair styled in the feathered hairstyles and perms of the era, she had a wholesome and angelic look to her that completely transformed when she became a model.

3 She Played Volleyball In High School

Attending Highland Secondary School in Comox, British Columbia, Pamela Anderson was an athlete and a member of the volleyball team. In a way, this indirectly led to her success as a model, because her first career after high school was as a fitness instructor, which is where she was discovered and put in her very first ad.

2 She Was Discovered In Her Home Province of British Columbia

While attending a football game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver in 1989, the camera panned to Pamela Anderson in the crowd, wearing a shirt that featured Labatt Brewing Company. The beer company was intrigued by her and hired her briefly as a spokesmodel, which paved the way for all the opportunities that followed.

1 She Had A High School Sweetheart

Ty Anderson, whose last name is a coincidence, was Pamela's high school boyfriend. Their relationship was typical of high school relationships, a first foray into love and intimacy. When Ty moved to Alberta after high school, she joined him, but they broke up as her career took off and they were spending more and more time apart.

Next: Biopic Of Pamela Anderson And Tommy Lee's Relationship In The Works