Pamela Anderson Says Hepatitis C Turned Her Life ‘Inside Out’

Almost 20 years ago, a doctor told Pamela Anderson the scariest news. “It was a death sentence. That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around ten years to live,” Anderson told the amfAR Gala Venezia 2026 audience on September 6 while accepting the Award of Courage. She was diagnosed with the hepatitis C virus after sharing tattoo needles with ex-husband Tommy Lee in 2002. At the time, the diagnosis filled her with fear, and she worried about her two children. “It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out,” she explained, adding that the cost of treatment took “everything I had in my bank.” Anderson shared that she was cured of hepatitis C in 2015.

“I’m not a victim, I’m a victor. I am strong and capable, more now than I could ever dream of,” she concluded with pride. “I’m not the damsel in distress, no matter how easy that role is to play.” Her upcoming film Place to Be premieres at the Venice Film Festival this Wednesday.