Pamela Anderson slow-motion running down the beach in her red Speedo swimsuit isn’t considered iconic for nothing. The bouncy and busty blonde bombshell reportedly “revolutionized” the cosmetic surgery industry during the ’90s. Reflecting on the past 10 years, cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Mark Berman, told ABC News in 2001 that “Pamela Anderson Lee became a reference point” for breast augmentation procedures. Dr. Leonard Grossman, another plastic surgeon speaking with the outlet, said that patients even used photos of Anderson in consultations for various procedures.
For Grossman, the Anderson boon was all positive. He told ABC News the industry was “blessed” with the NBC drama as it “brought our business to a whole new level,” adding, “It is the most vivid form of advertising. It’s like an hour long plastic-surgery commercial.” Whether or not Anderson was the direct result, American “surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures” clocked in at 4.6 million in 1999, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (per ABC News). The same outlet noted that the following year, breast augmentation procedures rose by 51%, and were up “[500%] since 1992, when Americans still worried about the dangers of leaky silicone pouches.”
Despite epitomizing beauty ideals back then, Anderson herself made the decision to remove her breast implants in 1999. Speaking with “Entertainment Tonight” (via the New York Post) about the procedure, the “Barb Wire” star said that she “just didn’t feel like it looked very good.”
