Pamela Anderson Shares Her Hepatitis C Diagnosis in '90s "Haunts" Her

How Pamela Anderson Helped Olivia Wilde Amid Don’t Worry Darling DramaPamela Anderson is grateful to be alive. The Naked Gun star detailed her battle with Hepatitis C—a viral infection spread through blood that causes swelling in the liver, per the Mayo Clinic—after she was diagnosed in the 1990s. "My experience propelled me forward, and I hope it can be of some inspiration," she said onstage at the amfAR Gala Venezia 2026 on Sept. 6, per video shared by Variety. "Back in the late '90s, when I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, there was no cure." "It was a death sentence," the 59-year-old continued. "That's what my doctor told me, that I probably had around 10 years to live." Anderson—who shares sons Brandon, 30, and Dylan, 28, with ex-husband Tommy Lee—quipped that her seemingly terminal illness may have led to some reckless choices, saying, "I'm sure that colored and corrupted my decisions." But she ultimately fought hard to be there for her kids, adding, "It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out.""Ten blurry years later, there was a cure," she shared. "I was lucky. 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." While the Last Showgirl star is "grateful" to say that she's now officially "Hep C free," she continues to feel haunted by her health battle. "My experience of shame and guilt was also an unconscious journey," she said. "It stays with me. It haunts me."Aurore Marechal/Getty Images for amfARSo, Anderson—who was recognized with amfAR's Award of Courage—made it a priority to bring awareness to the infection, telling people to get tested and working on "reducing stigma." "I don't think I've ever fully recovered from that news," Anderson explained at the event. "I've assimilated it. I finally come to terms, maybe. My truth has come through my work, finding ways to express myself and heal through the arts. It gave me the ammunition I needed, a fertile life to use and play in."To look back on Anderson's life in the spotlight, read on.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images1990Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images1991Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images1992ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images1992S. Granitz/WireImage1993Fremantle Media/Shutterstock1994Patrick Riviere/Getty Images1994Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images1996Steve Granitz Archive/WireImage1997Evan Agostini/Liaison/Getty Images1999Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2000Evan Agostini / Getty Images2001Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank2002Theo Wargo/WireImage2004Kevin Winter/Getty Images2006Foc Kan/WireImage2006Don Arnold/WireImage2008David Fisher/Shutterstock2010Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images2012Mike Marsland/WireImage2013Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images2014Venturelli/Getty Images2014Bennett Raglin/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank2015Desiree Navarro/WireImage2016Dominique Charriau/Getty Images2017Christopher Tamcke/Shutterstock2018John Phillips/amfAR/Getty Images for amfAR2019Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images2022Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix2023