Pamela Anderson has been surprised by the reaction to her makeup-free appearance.

The 58-year-old actress has opted to go makeup-free for red carpet appearances in recent years, but Pamela never imagined that it was cause so much discussion.

The former Baywatch star told People: "I look like my Instagram photos every day. That's where it stemmed from, I have all these young women in my life, my sons' girlfriends, my nieces. I just want to make sure that they feel confident in who they are ... and to not worry so much. Believe me, it's a practice."

Despite this, Pamela has been surprised by the reaction of the public.

She said: "People come to me with their daughters and say, 'Thank you so much for doing this'. I'm glad that it had an impact. Who would have thought I would be that girl?"

Meanwhile, Pamela previously admitted to hating her sex symbol status.

The movie star cemented her status as a sex symbol by playing 'C.J.' Parker in Baywatch in the 90s, but Pamela didn't actually enjoy the attention that came her way at the time.

During an appearance on the How To Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast, Pamela explained: "I don't like being a sex symbol.

"I mean, I think it's not very sexy. I think we all aspire to be sexy in our relationships, but sexy for the world is, I don't know.

"It brought a lot of attention I didn't like, but I hate to say that because I'm not complaining, but I do feel that is a slippery slope where you are presenting yourself to the world like this and you get this attention back that."

Pamela has adopted a makeup-free look on red carpets in recent years, and the actress is embracing being "more natural".

She said: "It can be even scary at times, me not wearing makeup and me being at this age, coming into this part of my career, I felt it was important for me in my personal life, to be more natural.

"I want to challenge myself and become and to be present myself in different ways because women are many things. We're not just the wild animal between the sheets."