Pamela Anderson has been free of hepatitis C since 2015
Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
NEED TO KNOW
- Pamela Anderson was diagnosed with hepatitis C in the late ’90s
- The actress claims that she contracted the disease by sharing tattoo needles with her ex-husband, Tommy Lee
- Anderson was cured in 2015
Pamela Anderson was in her early 30s when she was diagnosed with an illness that had no cure at the time.
In March 2002, Anderson announced that she had contracted hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral infection that attacks the liver. It can cause few or no symptoms at first but, if left untreated, may lead to liver damage, cirrhosis or liver cancer, according to the CDC.
While accepting the Award of Courage at the amfAR Gala Venezia in September 2026, the actress reflected on the life-changing diagnosis.
“Back in the late ’90s, when I was diagnosed with hepatitis C, there was no cure,” she said. “It was a death sentence.”
A cure for the viral infection was later found in 2011, and Anderson announced that she was free of hepatitis C in 2015.
Here’s everything to know about Pamela Anderson’s health history.
She was diagnosed with hepatitis C in the late ’90s
Credit: Kevin Winter/ImageDirect
Anderson was diagnosed with the viral infection in the late ’90s, but she did not publicly disclose her health issues until 2002.
“I contracted hepatitis C while sharing a tattoo needle with my ex-husband Tommy Lee,” Anderson said in a statement at the time, per ABC News. “Tommy has the disease and never disclosed it to me during our marriage.”
Her doctors gave her 10 years to live
At the time of Anderson’s diagnosis, there was no cure for hepatitis C, and she said doctors gave her about a decade to live. But when she reached the 10-year mark, they offered a more hopeful outlook.
“They said you could live your whole life with this disease, and you may not die from it,” Anderson told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. “You could more likely die from something else, but you could get liver cancer.”
The uncertainty shaped nearly every decision the Baywatch alum made, especially as she raised her two sons, Brandon Thomas and Dylan Jagger.
“I think it played into a lot of my decision-making, like when it came to trying to recreate families for my kids,” she admitted. “Trying to figure out a way to get them secure and trying to figure it all out. I know it did a number on me.”
Years later, Anderson echoed that sentiment at the 2026 amfAR Gala Venezia.
“It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children,” she told the audience. “It turned my life inside out.”
Anderson announced that she was cured in 2015
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In August 2015, Anderson started a new FDA-approved treatment for hepatitis C.
“I don’t have any liver damage and I don’t have any side effects,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “I’m living my life the way I want to but it could have eventually have caused me some problems and so it was a real blessing that I was able to get the medicine. I’m halfway there.”
That November, Anderson shared that the treatment had worked, and she was free of hepatitis C.
“I am CURED!!! I just found out,” she wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post, urging people with hepatitis C not to lose hope and advocating for more affordable access to treatment.
Ten years later, Anderson received the Award of Courage from amfAR at the non-profit’s Gala Venezia.
“I’m not a victim, I’m a victor,” she said in her acceptance speech. “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.”
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