Jamie Lee Curtis ‘Deeply’ Respects Pamela Anderson for ‘Walking Through the B.S. of Show Business’

“I think she is a transcendent creature,” Curtis, 65, told PEOPLE exclusively at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 6. “I think she is so smart and deeply spiritual and soulful. And beautiful!”

Anderson, 57, stars in The Last Showgirl as Shelley, a Las Vegas showgirl dancer rebuilding her life after her long-running show closes. Curtis, who plays Shelley’s “best friend” Annette, said she “did the movie because she was going to be in the movie.”

In fact, the Oscar winner had another project on the horizon and requested specific days to shoot The Last Showgirl so she could join Anderson onscreen.

“I love the way she is walking through the B.S. of show business and saying, ‘I do not need to play your game,’” added Curtis. “And I respect her for it so deeply.”

Anderson broke out in Hollywood after modeling work that appeared frequently in Playboy magazine. During her three-year marriage to Tommy Lee, she endured controversy following the theft and distribution of a sex tape, one of many subjects the Baywatch alum spoke candidly about in her 2023 memoir Love, Pamela and Netflix documentary Pamela, a love story.

On the Toronto red carpet, Curtis confirmed to reporters that she watched the documentary, which was produced by Anderson’s son Brandon Lee. “She’s been very honest about how society has treated her,” she said of her costar. “But I hope we will all have a newfound appreciation for her talents after they see the movie.”

The Last Showgirl, from director Gia Coppola, screenwriter Kate Gersten and producers Robert Schwartzman and Natalie Farrey, costars Dave Bautista, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and Billie Lourd. The movie marks Anderson’s first leading role in years; her last screen credit was the 2022 horror movie Alone at Night.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 5–15. Following its debut at the festival, The Last Showgirl will screen in the main competition slate of this year’s San Sebastián International Film Festival, which runs Sept. 20–28. It does not yet have a distributor or release date.