Inside Pam

Pamela Anderson is lounging in the backyard of her beach house in Malibu, California. She got home late last night from Las Vegas, where she attended her friend Elton John's extravaganza, in which he performs "The Bitch Is Back" in front of a 30-foot-tall screen that shows Pam pole dancing.

That's just one place she is appearing these days. She has one of the web's most visited sites (pamelaanderson.com), and the cartoon series she created with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, Stripperella, depicts Pam as a superheroine who can cut glass with her nipples. A devout vegetarian and animal-rights activist, Pam also recently appeared in a pro-vegetarian ad wearing a bikini made of lettuce, which caused even devoted carnivores to crave salad.

Pam is single and spends much of her time doting on her two children with ex-husband Tommy Lee, but she's also busy with a new clothing line, for which she recently shot a catalog. "It was very strange having to keep my clothes on," she explains. "My instinct is to fling them off." Thankfully she reserved that pleasure for us—in this, her ninth pictorial for Playboy. She also breaks her own record for the most covers in the magazine's 50 years. Editor David Sheff got the latest from America's greatest glamour queen.

[Q] Playboy: What does it mean to you that this is your 11th time on our cover?

[A] Anderson: I love that I can still do it, especially because some people don't approve. After all these years people are still hung up about it. Look at the reaction to Janet Jackson's nipple.

[Q] Playboy: Were you surprised by that reaction?

[A] Anderson: I understand that you aren't expecting to see a breast while you're watching the Super Bowl, but I don't understand the outrage—the fainting, the "My god, I'll never be able to have sex with my husband again" and "My kids are destroyed." Over a nipple? Come on. It's got to be the Bible Belt people, for whom everything about sex is repressed. When people pretend that sexuality isn't a part of our lives, the ugly stuff comes out. I've never understood why our children can see violence but not sexuality. Lord of the Rings is fine but not Lord of the Nipple Rings.

[Q] Playboy: Have you ever experienced a wardrobe malfunction?

[A] Anderson: Everything is always popping off me. Clothes and I are like two magnets opposing each other. Many times it could have been my Janet Jackson moment, though without the nipple ring.

[Q] Playboy: You don't go for that?

[A] Anderson: Tommy used to tell me to get my nipples pierced, but no way. He talked me into too many tattoos as it is.

[Q] Playboy: Your divorce from Lee was well covered in the press. Some people can't understand how, after all that, you claim that the two of you are still good friends.

[A] Anderson: We are good friends. We'll always love each other, plus we have a connection with our children that we take seriously. It's true that there was a time when I had to stand up to him for myself and the children, but he loves me for it. We're there for each other. It makes it tough for anybody else who comes into my life.

[Q] Playboy: Is that what got in the way of your relationship with Kid Rock?

[A] Anderson: If I'm going to be with someone, he has to bring stability to my life, not the opposite. Being on tour with someone isn't good for my health, and I just had to make a choice. I adore Kid Rock, but I'm better off being on my own here in Malibu.

[Q] Playboy: After your experience of having the private sex video of you and Tommy released to the public, do you have any advice for Paris Hilton, who is also featured in a stolen sex tape?

[A] Anderson: She should have kept her shoes on.

[Q] Playboy: Is another lesson not to tape yourself?

[A] Anderson: Not at all. What people do in private is their own business. It's fun to tape yourself. Put these things in perspective. Save your energy for caring about the important things.

[Q] Playboy: Such as, we imagine, learning that you have hepatitis C. Were you devastated?

[A] Anderson: At first. When the doctor told me, I said, "Okay, how do I get rid of it?" And he said, "You can't get rid of it. This is something you could die from." I would think of my kids and break into tears. Since then I've learned about the disease. They grade the liver from zero, which is healthy, to four, which is cirrhosis. I'm a one, so for now I'm fine.

[Q] Playboy: Are you getting treatments?

[A] Anderson: Only homeopathic medicine. If I were in a later stage, I don't know what I would do. They use interferon, which can have great results. But I'm not big into Western medicine. I don't even like to take Tylenol. If it got really bad, I don't know if I could get a liver transplant. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

[Q] Playboy: You've said that you contracted it from Lee when you shared a tattoo needle.

[A] Anderson: We don't really know, but it's very hard to get. You can't get it through sex unless there's blood-to-blood contact. It's usually through drug use or tattoo needles. I've tried to bring awareness to the disease and let people know that it doesn't discriminate. Kings and queens and bums and addicts and rock stars and actresses all have this. So I just take care of myself and keep my immune system strong. Since I've had kids, I've been uninterested in partying much. Usually I'm in bed with the boys at nine, though Elton's show was an exception.

[Q] Playboy: We wouldn't mind seeing a 30-foot-tall screen of you pole dancing. How was it for you?

[A] Anderson: I sat in the front row, and Elton was singing right to me. We've had some great fun. For one of his birthdays I wore a strawberry bikini and carried in a strawberry cake. And he kissed me. He actually stuck his tongue down my throat, which you wouldn't expect from Elton John.

[Q] Playboy: What inspired Stripperella?

[A] Anderson: Stan Lee and I wanted to do a sexy, campy cartoon. She's a stripper at night and a superhero later at night. It's just one of the things I've been doing. I also have the clothing line, which is 100 percent cruelty-free—no animal products, no animal testing, nonleather. I like that I can do so many different things, from helping educate people about the cruel way we treat animals to writing a column for women's magazines to posing nude in Playboy.

[Q] Playboy: Most women who are lusted after by men are loathed by other women. And yet you write a column for Jane, a women's magazine.

[A] Anderson: When I did TV shows and movies, the studios did demographic research. They were shocked to find that my audience isn't just men who are too drunk to turn off the TV after football. It's women, too. I don't know exactly why, other than that I've tried to remain true to myself for all these years. I have gone through a lot, and I've been open about it. Maybe they look at me and can see how you can grow up, have children, continue to be sexy, get married and divorced and, though you grew up poor, live the American dream. I'm very blessed. I'm happy for it all.

[Q] Playboy: Even for the painful times?

[A] Anderson: Absolutely. Pain just gets you to yourself faster. I look around and see that I've made good choices. My kids are happy, and we're sitting here in my dream house on the beach. Hopefully I went through it all with some grace and dignity.

[Q] Playboy: You recently asked, "How long does it take to become a virgin again?" Are you trying?

[A] Anderson: Yeah. How long does it take? I must almost be there.

[Q] Playboy: Do you miss sex?

[A] Anderson: It's just not at the top of my list. I'm sure it will be shortly, but I've had enough sex for a while. Who knows what will happen? If I don't have a relationship until my kids are 18, that's okay with me. That's not where my head is at right now. I'm content doing exactly what I'm doing. I'm 36 and I'm on the cover of Playboy. That's not too bad, is it?

See Pam Anderson's Original Playmate Pictorial at cyber.playboy.com.