Pamela Anderson is opening up about one of the most frightening chapters of her life and the strength she found on the other side of it.
The actress reflected on her experience with hepatitis C while being honored with the Award of Courage at the amfAR Gala Venezia, held during the Venice Film Festival.
Anderson recalled receiving her diagnosis at a time when there was no cure available. Doctors gave her a grim outlook, telling her she might have only about a decade to live.
For Anderson, the prospect of dying was not her greatest fear. She was a mother of two young boys, Brandon and Dylan, and the possibility of leaving them behind weighed heavily on her. She believes living under that prognosis also influenced some of the choices she made during those years.
Anderson has previously said she contracted hepatitis C after sharing a tattoo needle with her former husband, musician Tommy Lee.
Medical advances eventually transformed her outlook. New treatment options became available, and in 2015 Anderson announced that she had been cured of the disease. Getting there came at a significant financial cost, however, and the emotional consequences proved harder to leave behind.
During her Venice remarks, Anderson spoke candidly about carrying feelings of shame and stigma connected to the diagnosis. Those emotions became part of a larger personal struggle that included trauma from earlier in her life.
Rather than allowing those experiences to determine how she sees herself, Anderson said she found an outlet through creativity. Acting and artistic expression gave her a way to transform painful experiences into something she could use rather than something that controlled her.
That perspective was at the heart of her message in Venice.
Now 59, Anderson is increasingly defining her public story on her own terms. Her speech offered a reminder that surviving a difficult chapter is only part of the journey. Reclaiming the narrative afterward can be just as powerful.
For Anderson, the distinction is clear: her past may be part of her story, but she refuses to let it cast her as someone waiting to be rescued.
