'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson left Hollywood to shed 'cartoon character' Playboy image

Crystal Hefner, a former Playboy model, has written a memoir, ‘Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself.’ She was the late Playboy founder's third and final wife.

Pamela Anderson wants to leave the past behind.

The former Playboy model admitted she feels "far removed" from her previous status as a sex symbol and wanted to take a step away from Hollywood.

The "Baywatch" star explained how she began to let go of her previous image and began to flaunt her natural beauty without wearing makeup.

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Baywatch star Pamela Anderson aimed to shed her Playboy image by leaving Hollywood. (Getty Images)

"That was the beginning of me letting go of the image I had always had of myself," she said during an interview with Better Homes & Gardens.

"What is this cartoon character that I’d created? OK, that was fun. But I’m not that person anymore."

Anderson was known for starring in "Baywatch" and her appearances in Playboy. (Getty Images)

The success of her modeling and acting career allowed her to gain international recognition as an American sex symbol during the 1990s. She holds citizenship in the United States and Canada.

Despite her rise to fame, Anderson confessed she wasn’t in a "good space" when she made the decision to leave Hollywood and move back to Canada.

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Anderson admitted she feels "far removed" from her previous image. (Getty Images)

"I don’t know what happened over the last few decades, but I feel now so far removed from the image of who I was. I felt very sad and lonely. I didn’t feel just misunderstood. I felt like I had really screwed up, that my whole life was a bundle of mistakes," she told the magazine.

"I was hard on myself, and I thought I put my family through a lot and put my kids through so much. I came to a point where I decided to move home and disappear and get into my garden."

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Pamela Anderson played the role of C.J. Park in "Baywatch." (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin)

Anderson first appeared in Playboy magazine in the February 1990 edition as Playmate of the Month. She gained recognition for regular appearances in Hugh Hefner's Playboy, becoming the magazine's most frequent cover model. 

Her acting career took off when she landed the role of C.J. Park in "Baywatch," a drama series that aired from 1992-97.

The mother of two shares sons Brandon and Dylan with Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Anderson and Lee were married from 1995-98.

The mother of two shares sons Brandon and Dylan Lee with Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. Anderson and Lee were married from 1995-98. (S. Granitz/WireImage)

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Anderson couldn’t be happier to put her past behind and has no regrets turning in her previous Hollywood stardom for a simpler lifestyle. 

"People have this pneumatic kind of image of me from Playboy to ‘Baywatch,’ to my rock ’n’ roll type of husbands, to everything else. And as much as I threw every dinner party and cooked all those meals for family and my kids, it wasn’t what was seen publicly," she said.

"But I also played into the image that was created around me. I’m glad I did all that, but I’m really glad I’m where I am now. I think the most important part is, I made it through all of it. And now it’s such a relief that I get to be myself and enjoy this time."

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Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an Entertainment Writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.giang@fox.com and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.

'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson left Hollywood to shed 'cartoon character' Playboy image

'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson left Hollywood to shed 'cartoon character' Playboy image

'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson left Hollywood to shed 'cartoon character' Playboy image

'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson left Hollywood to shed 'cartoon character' Playboy image

'Baywatch' star Pamela Anderson left Hollywood to shed 'cartoon character' Playboy image