AARP Hearing Center
Pamela Anderson, 59, Says Doctor Gave Her 10 Years to Live After Hepatitis C Diagnosis
At the amfAR Gala Venezia, the actor reflected on the illness she lived with before treatment cleared it
Pamela Anderson, seen here in London in 2025, has opened up about her hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment.
Joe Maher/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA
Key takeaways
- Pamela Anderson said a doctor told her she probably had about 10 years to live after her hepatitis C diagnosis.
- The actor says she contracted the virus after sharing a tattoo needle.
- Anderson announced she was cured in 2015.
Pamela Anderson, 59, was raising two little boys when a doctor gave her news she thought might keep her from seeing them grow up: She had tested positive for hepatitis C, a viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver.
“It was a death sentence,” Anderson said Sunday, according to People, while accepting amfAR’s Award of Courage at its annual gala in Venice, Italy, to raise money for HIV/AIDS research. “That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live.” People reported that Anderson was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2002.
More Ways to Benefit
- Related Benefit 1
- Related Benefit 2
- Related Benefit 3
- Related Benefit 4
- Related Benefit 5
Anderson told the amfAR audience that motherhood shaped how she absorbed the prognosis. “It was not fear of death but fear of what might happen to my young children. It turned my life inside out.” She has two sons with ex-husband and musician Tommy Lee: Brandon Thomas, 30, and Dylan Jagger, 28.
She has been specific about how she believes she contracted the virus. In a July 2002 interview with Larry King, he asked how she contracted it. “The only thing I can think of is when we shared a needle getting a tattoo,” she said during the interview, referring to Lee.
Lee disputes her account. ABC News reported in March 2002 that he’d told Entertainment Tonight he did not have hepatitis C.
The illness stayed with Anderson for years. ABC News later identified the drug that cleared the infection as Sovaldi and reported that Anderson had completed a 12-week course of it. “Twelve weeks and gone, yes,” she told ABC in 2016. The outlet reported that the treatment had cost about $100,000 and was covered by her health insurance.
At the Venice gala, Anderson described the financial toll. “It took everything I had in my bank,” said the actor, who recently received her first Golden Globe nomination for her starring role in the drama The Last Showgirl.
Hepatitis C can be especially dangerous because people may carry it for years without knowing it. The Mayo Clinic describes it as a viral infection that causes inflammation of the liver and spreads through contact with infected blood. Chronic hepatitis C often produces no symptoms for years. Over time, it can cause cirrhosis, liver cancer or liver failure.
Treatment is far more effective now than it was when Anderson learned she was infected. The Mayo Clinic says newer direct-acting antiviral medicines have better outcomes, fewer side effects and shorter treatment times, often about 12 weeks and sometimes as little as eight.
The virus remains common. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 2.4 million people, and as many as 4 million, had hepatitis C in the United States from 2017 through 2020. The CDC recommends hepatitis C testing for all adults.
Liver Health
For more on liver health, including risk factors, warning signs and ways to protect this vital organ, visit AARP’s guide to liver cancer.
AARP’s Dr. Adam Rosenbluth says doctors routinely test for viral hepatitis when liver enzymes are abnormal and notes that hepatitis C can remain silent for years. For liver health, he recommends exercise and a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and lean proteins while cutting back on sugar, refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods. And skip the pricey “liver detoxes”: Rosenbluth says products such as cleanses and powders have no proven benefit.
More than two decades after receiving a prognosis that frightened her as a young mother, Anderson used the amfAR stage to describe herself differently: “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor.”
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
AARP Membership
Join AARP for only $15 per year with automatic renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
More From AARP
Jamie Foxx Revisits His Near-Fatal Stroke
He shares what doctors told him about his daughter’s role while he was critically ill
Busy Philipps, 47, on Her Brain Tumor Diagnosis
A February MRI found a brain tumor; a staph infection led to a second surgery in April
Christie Brinkley, 72, Is Back on the Big Screen
Supermodel talks about changing attitudes on aging and her new movie, ‘American Summer’