Ladysmith’s most famous resident has returned to live in the town.
Pamela Anderson, became famous through her acting and modelling career, but after years of living in France and California she’s back home and fixing up a family property.
Locals say lately she’s been making regular appearances in town.
“Yeah, I saw her a week ago. She was just walking with her mother and doing her own thing,” said Nadine Epp-Evans, a Ladysmith resident.
People who have lived here awhile have seen Pamela Anderson during her family visits over the years but recently the celebrity has been spotted a lot.
“Oh she comes in quite often. Very nice lady. Very soft-spoken. She’s an animal lover so this is the place for her,” said Jackie Jurisic, For Pets Sake Store Manager.
Anderson, who first found fame as a TV star in the 1990s, has lived in California and France for many years, but she’s long owned and maintained property in Ladysmith.
“I grew up on Vancouver Island. This is my grandmother’s property that I actually live on now. You know learned how to swim on Transfer Beach. I love it here and obviously what I consider my home,” said Anderson in a YouTube video against oil tankers along BC’s coast.
And now she’s returned. In an interview with the Ladysmith Chemainus Chronicle, she says she’s restoring her five-acre property and wants a dock and a boat for her family.
She goes on to say “I love it here and people will see me around more. I want to inject more resources into the community. And who knows I might open a few businesses.”
She also gives a shout out to vegan restaurant Plantitude in Ladysmith where she’s been frequenting and to federal green MP Paul Manly, who she endorsed at a recent Green Party town hall meeting in Nanaimo.
At the Ladysmith Museum, Anderson is one of the community’s women who are recognized for their contributions.
“I think we all welcome her back. We appreciate her and it’s marvellous to have someone who’s done things out in the world to come back,” said Lesley Moore, Ladysmith’s Museum Curator.
“We need that connection. People coming back to where they were born and raised because so often those connections are lost.”
A warm small-town welcome back for a special resident who has returned home.
Kendall Hanson
