US Edition She is not the most likely of diplomats, but Pamela Anderson has told how she has influenced some of the worlds most formidable leaders – thanks to Baywatch.
Anderson, the actress and model, claimed she had convinced Vladimir Putin to ban the import of seal products, and had discussed major policy with Fidel Castro.
Speaking at the launch of her new charity the Pamela Anderson Foundation in Cannes, she said she had earned the ear of many world leaders after Baywatch was screened in 150 countries.
Pamela Anderson and Vivienne Westwood at The Pamela Anderson Foundation launch (GETTY)
She has now pledged to put her power to good use, disclosing many of the senior figures were willing to talk to her through their advisers, who "always want a lot of pictures".
Anderson told an audience she has spent the last 20 years travelling from "parliament to parliament".
"I've had the ear of people like Castro and Putin," she said. "Russia stopped the importation of harp seal products, which closed 90 per cent of the market."
She added: "It's very bizarre. I do have so much contact with so many great people. All these powerful people, I can connect them.
"We start off with all these people, then the meetings get smaller and smaller, and by the end they only let me in.
"They always want a lot of pictures. But whatever it takes."
The Baywatch actress added she has usually dealt with politicians' senior teams of advisers, as she used the evening to explain why she had chosen her charities.
She has now launched the Pamela Anderson Foundation during the Cannes Film festival, providing support and funding to human rights, animal rights, and environmental protection organisations.
The event, a backgammon tournament that she co-hosted with Vivienne Westwood, raised more than $150,000 for non-profit organisation Cool Earth.
Anderson also revealed details of the abuse she endured in childhood, which inspired her to prioritise animals over humans.
The actress said she had been molested as a primary schoolgirl, turning to animals for solace.
"I feel now might be the time to reveal a few of my most painful memories," she said.
"At the risk of overexposing myself, again, or being inappropriate, again, I thought I might share with you why I am doing this."
She told an audience she had "not had an easy childhood", being molested by a female babysitter while she was still in primary school.
She went on to be raped by another acquaintance at the age of 12, and gang-raped later in life by seven men.
"This meant I had a hard time trusting humans," she said. "I kept all of it to myself. Sometimes when you smile, it's not because you're happy but because you're strong.
"My affinity with animals saved me. It came to me naturally. The trees spoke to me. My loyalty remained with the animal kingdom and I vowed to protect them and only them.
"I prayed to the whales with my feet in the ocean; my only real friends until I had children."
Her first project with the foundation will be with Cool Earth, a charity working alongside indigenous villages to halt rainforest destruction.