Brenda Song Says Pamela Anderson Encouraged“ Last Showgirl” Cast to Film Makeup-Free with Her

Brenda Song is looking back on The Last Showgirl — and Pamela Anderson's bare-faced positivity on set.

In an interview with Bustle published Jan. 7, Song opened up about the culture behind Gia Coppola's indie film, specifically a "less-is-more" mentality that extended to the makeup chair. In recent years, Song noted, her costar Anderson — who has become a no-makeup icon in her advocacy for natural beauty — encouraged others on set to give it a try.

While the actresses were on stage as showgirls, they sported heavy glam — as stages often demand. But aside from those moments, Song said, there was no makeup on their faces whatsoever.

Related: Get Ready with Brenda Song and Macaulay Culkin for a Rare Glam Beauty Date Night (Exclusive)

“The first day we tried makeup on and Gia was like, ‘It doesn't feel real.’ And Pam was like, ‘These women don’t have time for it,’" Song recalled. "And Pamela being Pamela, she goes, ‘I’m not doing it. You guys shouldn’t do it either.’”

Song had a long career as a child actor — telling Bustle she's "lived the life of a 30-year-old work woman since I was 11" — which meant getting into makeup very early on. A little bit of powder and concealer has been standard in her experience, Song said, but not in The Last Showgirl.

"In this movie there was no place for it," she said. "There was something really freeing about not being worried every two seconds going 'Oh my God, this is the least amount of clothing that I've ever worn in my career. I just had two kids. I feel so insecure."

She continued, "And working with these women — who every day uplifted and supported me, made me feel beautiful — made me feel comfortable."

Anderson recently opened up to PEOPLE about her The Last Showgirl character, Shelly, and how her cosmetic philosophy mirrored her own.

Related: How Pamela Anderson’s Son Got Her The Last Showgirl Script After Her Then-Agent Secretly Turned It Down (Exclusive)

The Baywatch actress wanted to depict her character as she would by just "going to the grocery store," she said.

"I just wanted it to be raw and real, and I was ready for that and prepared for that and excited about that," she told PEOPLE.

She added that while preparing for the day's filming on The Last Showgirl set, she avoided mirrors to prevent overthinking her appearance. The only mirrors she engaged with were the showgirl mirrors, she said, which were part of the film itself.

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Anderson's decision to go makeup-free — after decades of carving a specific glam niche for herself — came after her longtime makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, died of breast cancer in 2019. Anderson told Elle that without Vogel, she felt better without makeup, too.

Since then, she's made a number of appearances flaunting a bare face, most recently at the 2025 Golden Globes.

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