Pamela Anderson delivered emotional remarks about her past hepatitis C diagnosis while accepting a prestigious honor at the amfAR Gala in Venice on Sunday, September 6, revealing the profound impact the illness had on her life and career.
The 59-year-old actress received amfAR's Award of Courage at the event, where she spoke candidly about the devastating prognosis she received upon her initial diagnosis.
"It was a death sentence. That's what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live," Anderson told Variety at the gala. "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."
The former Baywatch star first disclosed her hepatitis C diagnosis publicly in 2002. She contracted the blood-borne viral infection through sharing tattoo needles with her ex-husband, Tommy Lee, with whom she shares two sons: Brandon, 30, and Dylan, 28.
During her acceptance speech, Anderson described the psychological toll of living with the diagnosis, explaining how the shame and vulnerability affected her self-perception.
"But my experience of shame and guilt was also an unconscious journey. It stays with me; it haunts me," she said, according to Variety. "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."
Anderson revealed she became hepatitis C free in 2015, following the development of a cure for the infection in 2011. However, accessing the treatment came at a steep financial cost.
The treatment "took everything I had in my bank," Anderson told Us Weekly at the event.
Despite being cured of the virus, the actress acknowledged that she has not completely recovered from the ordeal. Nevertheless, she credited her struggles with fueling her recent career resurgence, which includes roles in films such as The Last Showgirl and The Naked Gun.
"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, according to Variety. "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."
Anderson had previously discussed her battle with hepatitis C in a 2015 interview with People magazine, shortly after completing her treatment.
"I think anyone struggling with a disease that they say you can live with is still — it still plays into a lot of your decisions in your life," she told People. "Twenty years ago they told me I would die in 10 years. And 10 years into that, they told me I would be able to live with it and probably die of something else, but it all was very scary stuff."
At the time, Anderson expressed excitement about her recovery, noting that her ex-husband Tommy Lee had been cured a year earlier.
"I've been too busy, I think it really hasn't even hit me yet, but it's exciting because now I get 20 years back on my life," she told People. "They came up with a cure just recently, and you know Tommy was cured a year ago, I was cured just Friday."
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Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a pop culture junkie and loves to share what's happening in Hollywood and what trends are taking the world by storm.
