Pamela Anderson shared how her hepatitis C diagnosis upended her life in a touching speech at the 83rd Venice Film Festival over the weekend.“It was a death sentence. That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live,” the actor told the audience at the amfAR Gala in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, according to multiple outlets. “I’m sure that colored and corrupted my decisions. It was not fear of death, but fear of what might happen to my young children,” she said. Anderson said hepatitis C, which causes liver inflammation and damage, “turned my life inside out” when she was diagnosed in 2002. She has said that she contracted the disease by sharing a tattoo needle with her ex-husband Tommy Lee, although Lee has publicly denied that claim. Anderson shares sons Brandon and Dylan with the Mötley Crüe drummer. The “Baywatch” actor said that paying for treatment for her hepatitis C “took everything I had in the bank,” but that she was hepatitis-free by 2015.“I was lucky,” Anderson said. “I was offered it in its early stages … It wasn’t covered by insurance yet, and I felt tremendous guilt that others weren’t granted the same access.”Pamela Anderson attending the amfAR Gala Venezia at the Hilton Molino Stucky on Sept. 6, 2026 in Venice, Italy.Victor Boyko/amfAR via Getty ImagesAnderson then got candid about struggling with “shame and guilt” over her diagnosis, adding that it still “haunts” her. “And just like the sexual abuse that I endured as a child, it felt like it was carved into my forehead: Damaged goods. And I presented myself as such,” she continued. The Canadian American model, who was honored with amfAR’s Award of Courage at the ceremony, shared that while she hasn’t “fully recovered” from her diagnosis, she believes she has “finally come to terms” with it. “I’m not a victim, I’m a victor. 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,” Anderson added. Watch a clip from her speech below.