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How Pamela Anderson Helped Olivia Wilde Amid Don’t Worry Darling Drama
Pamela 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 amfAR
So, 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 Images
1990
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1991
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1992
ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
1992
S. Granitz/WireImage
1993
Fremantle Media/Shutterstock
1994
Patrick Riviere/Getty Images
1994
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
1996
Steve Granitz Archive/WireImage
1997
Evan Agostini/Liaison/Getty Images
1999
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2000
Evan Agostini / Getty Images
2001
Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
2002
Theo Wargo/WireImage
2004
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
2006
Foc Kan/WireImage
2006
Don Arnold/WireImage
2008
David Fisher/Shutterstock
2010
Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images
2012
Mike Marsland/WireImage
2013
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
2014
Venturelli/Getty Images
2014
Bennett Raglin/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank
2015
Desiree Navarro/WireImage
2016
Dominique Charriau/Getty Images
2017
Christopher Tamcke/Shutterstock
2018
John Phillips/amfAR/Getty Images for amfAR
2019
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
2022
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix
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