The “Baywatch” star said her doctor told her she had 10 years to live when she was diagnosed with the viral infection in the late 1990s.

Pamela Anderson said her doctor told her she had 10 years to live when she was diagnosed in the late 1990s with hepatitis C.

“It was a death sentence,” said Anderson.

But on Sunday, the actor whose breakout role on “Baywatch” turned her into an international star, was honored with amfAR’s Award of Courage at a gala in Venice, where she opened up about the diagnosis that upended her life. amfAR is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending HIV/AIDS; hepatitis C is frequently a co-infection with AIDS.

At the time of her diagnosis, there was no cure for hepatitis C, which is a viral infection that causes liver inflammation and potential long-term damage.

“I’m sure that colored and corrupted my decisions,” Anderson, 59, said. “It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out.”

When Anderson publicly revealed in 2002 that she was infected with the virus, she said she contracted hepatitis C after sharing a tattoo needle with her then-husband, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

“Tommy has the disease and never disclosed it to me during our marriage,” said Anderson, who at the time was in a custody battle with Lee over their two children.

Lee, however, has insisted repeatedly that he does not have hepatitis C.

Meanwhile, Anderson said in her speech on Sunday that she struggled with “shame and guilt.”

“It stays with me; it haunts me,” she said in her speech. “And just like the sexual abuse that I endured as a child, it felt like it was carved into my forehead: damaged goods. And I presented myself as such.”

Then, in 2011, a cure for the viral infection was found, and four years later Anderson announced she was “hep C free.”

“I was lucky,” Anderson said in her speech before amfAR. “I was offered it in its early stages, and it took everything I had in my bank to pay for it. It wasn’t covered by insurance yet, and I felt tremendous guilt that others weren’t granted the same access.”

But Anderson said she has “finally come to terms” with the diagnosis.

In recent years, Anderson’s acting career has been revived, with roles in films like “The Last Showgirl,” “The Naked Gun,” “Rosebush Pruning” and “Place to Be,” which premieres Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival.

“My truth has come through my work, finding ways to express myself through the arts. It gave me the ammunition I needed, a fertile life to use and play in,” Anderson said. “I’m not a victim. I’m a victor. I am strong and capable, more now than I could ever dream of. … I’m not the damsel in distress, no matter how easy that role is to play.”

Pamela Anderson recalls doctors giving her 10 years to live following hepatitis C diagnosis

The “Baywatch” alum said she was given what amounted to “a death sentence.”

• Anderson said she’s still affected by the health scare.

Pamela Anderson remembers the hepatitis C diagnosis she received in 2002 was chilling.

“It was a death sentence at the time,” the Baywatch star said Sunday during the Venice Film Festival at the amfAR Gala Venezia, where she was recognized with the organization’s Award of Courage. “That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live.”

She continued, “I’m sure that colored and corrupted my decisions. It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out.”

But the mother of sons Brandon, now 30, and Dylan, 28, whom she shares with rocker Tommy Lee, and the millions of others with the viral infection were provided relief, even a cure, in the past decade or so — if they could obtain it.

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The Naked Gun actress was “free” of hepatitis C by 2015, though she said it it “took everything I had in my bank.”

Anderson said she hasn’t fully recovered and she continues to deal with the aftermath of her medical scare.

 

“But my experience of shame and guilt was also an unconscious journey. It stays with me; it haunts me,” Anderson said. “And just like the sexual abuse that I endured as a child, it felt like it was carved into my forehead: Damaged goods. And I presented myself as such.”

Following her health scare, Anderson won rave reviews and a Best Actress nomination at the 2025 Golden Globes for her turn in The Last Showgirl.

She noted at the film fest that she refuses to be a victim.

“My truth has come through my work, finding ways to express myself through the arts,” Anderson said. “It gave me the ammunition I needed, a fertile life to use and play in. I’m not a victim, I’m a victor. I am strong and capable, more now than I could ever dream of … I’m not the damsel in distress, no matter how easy that role is to play.”

She said from the stage that “courage expands one’s life, while fear diminishes it.”

Anderson has kept working on a new projects, including a TV series based on her 1996 movie Barb Wire. She and her sons are set to produce.

Pamela Anderson Opens Up About Recovering After Hepatitis C ‘Death Sentence’ Diagnosis in Venice Speech: ‘I’m Not a Victim, I’m a Victor’

NEED TO KNOW

• Pamela Anderson received the Award of Courage from amfAR at the non-profit’s Gala Venezia on Sept. 6
• In her acceptance speech, the Rosebush Pruning actress opened up about her 2002 hepatitis C diagnosis
• Calling the viral infection “a death sentence” at the time, Anderson said, “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor”

Pamela Anderson is looking back at a harrowing medical diagnosis.

The actress took the stage at the amfAR Gala Venezia 2026 on Sunday, Sept. 6 and gave a powerful speech reflecting on contracting hepatitis C in 2002. The amfAR event, held at Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice, Italy during the Venice Film Festival, honored Anderson, 59, with the non-profit’s Award of Courage.

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“It was a death sentence. That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live,” the Last Showgirl star recalled onstage, per Variety. Anderson has said she contracted the hepatitis C virus by sharing tattoo needles with ex-husband Tommy Lee.

The doctor’s diagnosis “colored and corrupted my decisions,” continued Anderson. “It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out.” The Baywatch alum and Lee, 63, share adult sons Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger.

“It took everything I had in my bank” to pay for treatment, added Anderson, who in 2015 announced that she was free of hepatitis C. A cure for the viral infection was found in 2011.

“I’m not a victim, I’m a victor. I am strong and capable, more now than I could ever dream of,” concluded Anderson in her speech. “I’m not the damsel in distress, no matter how easy that role is to play.”

Presenting Anderson with the award was Taika Waititi, her costar in the upcoming drama Place to Be. The drama from director Kornél Mundruczó, costarring Ellen Burstyn, Édgar Ramírez, Lena Waithe, Murray Bartlett and Maika Monroe, premieres at the fest on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Dedicated to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic, amfAR has also advanced research and advocacy on hepatitis C, a common co-infection for people living with HIV. The Venice gala also celebrated performance artist Marina Abramović with the Award of Inspiration, introduced by Orlando Bloom. The event included an auction and live performances from Mimi Webb and Bebe Rexha.

Among Anderson’s upcoming screen projects are Place to Be, Alma, Love Is Not the Answer and Somedays. The Canadian star appeared in this year’s Rosebush Pruning, released in July.

The 83rd Venice Film Festival runs Sept. 2–12.

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