Anderson receives Award of Courage, recounts hepatitis C diagnosis
Entertainment
Pamela Anderson received the Award of Courage at the amfAR Gala Venezia in September 2026, where she candidly shared her experience with hepatitis C, a serious liver infection she contracted in the late 1990s after sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband Tommy Lee.
She went public about her diagnosis in 2002.
Anderson recovered after 2015 FDA treatment
Back then, doctors told Anderson she had just 10 years to live, and she described hearing that as a "death sentence," especially since she was raising two young sons.
In 2015, new FDA-approved treatment helped her fully recover, a moment she called a "real blessing."
At the gala, Anderson said it was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to her young children, and she said, "I'm not a victim, I'm a victor."