News | Entertainment
13 Jan 2026 10:39
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Pamela Anderson "would like to change her name" to embrace her Finnish heritage

    The 58-year-old star has revealed she often wants to reclaim the moniker previously held by her late Finnish grandfather Herman Hyytiäinen, which was changed when the family arrived in Canada.


    She told Vogue Scandinavia: "Sometimes I don't want to be Pamela Anderson. I want to be Pamela Hyytiäinen. I would like to change my name, but they won’t let me.”
    The Baywatch star - who described her grandfather as "the closest person to me in my life" - recalled how Herman taught her Finnish as a young girl, but at the time she believed it to be a mythical language only they shared.
    However, she lost touch with being able to speak it fluently after he died when she was around 11 years old.
    She added: "It kind of left with him."
    In 2007, she and her father visited Finland to see their relatives, and she was keen to "feel that connection" with the land her grandfather told her about through folk tales and myths.
    She explained: "I just wanted to go, to feel that connection. I’d love to go back to Finland, maybe with my sons. To find out more about myself, to explore that side of me.
    "Maybe we will change my name and go back, to answer to my roots. It feels distant, but it’s a part of me. I’ve always been proud to tell people I’m Finnish, even before I knew what that really meant.”
    Family legacy has always been important to Pamela, who bought her grandparents' Vancouver Island estate three decades ago.
    She laughed: “I live in the house I grew up in, which is triggering and crazy.
    "Even though I’ve renovated, I’ve kept a lot of the charm of my grandparents’ place. I feel him there.
    “Herman was very tall, six foot three. I can see him sitting in his La-Z-Boy chair, and I can hear him, he had such a low voice. He still has such a strong presence in the house.”

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     13 Jan: Kelsea Ballerini's dog has died
     13 Jan: Kate Hudson doesn't even think about ageing
     13 Jan: Justin Bieber could play a huge comeback show in the UK in 2026
     13 Jan: Amanda Seyfried felt "so liberated" while making The Housemaid
     13 Jan: Khloe Kardashian "always had really bad therapists"
     13 Jan: Travis Kelce is in talks to join Netflix
     13 Jan: Anthony Joshua has paid tribute to his two friends who died in a recent car crash
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    New Zealand Rugby's high performance boss Mike Anthony is moving on to join Premier League football side Brighton More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The US company trying to takeover Kiwi tech firm Rakon plans to keep its presence here More...



     Today's News

    Cricket:
    Alyssa Healy, the captain of the Australian women's cricket team, will retire in March after the series with India 10:27

    National:
    Venezuela’s leader may be gone, but his regime remains – with a new chief in Washington 10:27

    Entertainment:
    Kelsea Ballerini's dog has died 10:23

    National:
    Iran protests 2026: our surveys show Iranians agree more on regime change than what might come next 10:17

    Soccer:
    Liverpool lead Barnsley 2-1 in the second half of their FA Cup third round football match at Anfield 10:07

    National:
    It takes many ghosts to make a story: how Maggie O'Farrell’s Hamnet takes from – and mistakes – Shakespeare 10:07

    International:
    How the Iranian regime uses the dead in its intimidation and propaganda machine 10:07

    Accident and Emergency:
    Police have recovered a body from a vehicle in the Waikato River, while searching for another man who was swept downstream on Saturday 10:07

    Entertainment:
    Kate Hudson doesn't even think about ageing 9:53

    Entertainment:
    Justin Bieber could play a huge comeback show in the UK in 2026 9:23


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd