Pamela Anderson has spoken publicly about the hepatitis C diagnosis that once led her to believe she had only a decade left to live.
The ‘Baywatch’ alum, 57, delivered an emotional speech at the amfAR Gala in Venice on Sunday night while accepting the organization’s Award of Courage. She shared that doctors gave her the grim timeline in the late 1990s, back when no cure existed for the viral liver infection.
“It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out,” she said.
Anderson said the diagnosis brought lasting feelings of shame and guilt, which she compared to the impact of childhood sexual abuse she had previously endured. She noted that she has not “fully recovered” from the experience even years later.
The Canadian-born actor underwent treatment after a cure became available in 2011, and she was declared “hep C free” by 2015. She revealed that paying for the medication nearly wiped out her entire savings.
Anderson was diagnosed at a time when hepatitis C, which spreads through contact with infected blood, carried far more uncertain outcomes. The American Liver Foundation estimates approximately 2.7 million people in the US currently live with the infection, though many remain asymptomatic and undiagnosed.
“My truth has come through my work, finding ways to express myself through the arts,” Anderson said during her acceptance speech.
She has channeled those experiences into what has become a significant career resurgence. Recent projects include roles in ‘The Last Showgirl,’ ‘The Naked Gun,’ ‘Rosebush Pruning,’ and ‘Place to Be,’ the latter of which premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday.
“I’m not a victim, I’m a victor. I am strong and capable, more now than I could ever dream of,” she continued.
AmfAR, which primarily works toward ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic, has also supported hepatitis C research because the infection is a common co-infection among people living with HIV. The organization honored performance artist Marina Abramović alongside Anderson at Sunday’s gala; Abramović received the Award of Inspiration.
The evening included performances from Mimi Webb and Bebe Rexha, plus a high-value auction. Abramović’s package — featuring a digital artwork, lunch cooked at her Manhattan apartment, and a tutorial in the ‘Abramović Method’ — fetched €500,000 ($580,000), making it the night’s biggest sale.
Anderson’s hepatitis C diagnosis came during her marriage to musician Tommy Lee, with whom she shares two sons. The fear of leaving her young children without a mother reshaped her priorities and choices for years afterward.