'They told me I'd die in 10 years': These celebrities contracted Hepatitis C
When you think of people having Hepatitis C, a glamorous Hollywood star might not come to mind. However, the reality of the disease is that it can affect anyone exposed to the virus. And many people (including celebrities) don't even know they are infected. Celebrities like Pamela Anderson and Natasha Lyonne have spoken openly about their infections and their battles with the disease, here are some more famous stars who have contracted Hepatitis C...
Some overcame it ... others were not so lucky!
Updated
When you think of people having Hepatitis C, a glamorous Hollywood star might not come to mind. However, the reality of the disease is that it can affect anyone exposed to the virus. And many people (including celebrities) don't even know they are infected. Celebrities like Pamela Anderson and Natasha Lyonne have spoken openly about their infections and their battles with the disease, here are some more famous stars who have contracted Hepatitis C...
Steven Tyler
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The Aerosmith frontman and former 'American Idol' judge discovered he had Hepatitis C in 2003. During an interview with the 'Today' show in 2006, the singer said: "I've had Hepatitis for a long time, asymptomatically. It's one of those things that people don't talk about, but it's treatable.” After 11 months of treatment and while his band wasn't touring, Tyler was cured of the disease. Since then, he has encouraged people to get screened and treated.
Natasha Lyonne
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The star of Netflix's hit series 'Orange Is the New Black' told Entertainment Weekly in March 2012 that she discovered she had Hepatitis C in 2005 when she was admitted to hospital for various health problems. The actress has spoken openly about her past heroin use and says she is now clean and sober since going to rehab in 2006.
Pamela Anderson
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The 'Baywatch' star was candid in saying she contracted Hepatitis C from a tattoo needle she shared with her ex-husband, Motley Crue rocker Tommy Lee, in an interview with Jane magazine in 2002. After 16 years of thinking she would die - after doctors told her she only had 10 years to live after diagnosis - Pamela told People magazine in November 2015 that she underwent further treatment for Hepatitis C and was now cured of the disease. She said: "I think anyone struggling with a disease that they say you can live with is still — it still plays into a lot of your decisions in your life. Twenty years ago they told me I would die in 10 years. And 10 years into that, they told me I would be able to live with it and probably die of something else, but it all was very scary stuff."
Ken Watanabe
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The Japanese actor battled leukemia in 1989 and, although he managed to beat blood cancer, he contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion he received during that time. Routine screening for Hepatitis C in the blood supply did not begin until 1992, and Watanabe was one of many people who contracted the virus from blood products or organ donations before then. The actor began treatment for the virus in 2005.
David Crosby
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In 1994, the late rock icon found out he had Hepatitis C. He was sober at the time, but his early years of intravenous drug use may have led to his infection. In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning in 2008, he revealed his doctor told him when discussing the disease: "You're down to about maybe 20 per cent of your function on your liver now, and you're gonna die very soon if we don't get your transplant." At the time, the singer worried that he would die before seeing his youngest son grow up, but he received a transplant and avoided that fate. In January 2014, David told the Washington Post that he was still healthy. He passed away on 19 January 2023.
Naomi Judd
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Ashley and Wynonna Judd's mother learned she had Hepatitis C in 1990. The country legend contracted it from a needle stick while working as a nurse. At the time, doctors told her she had only three years to live. But in 1998, the singer reported that her disease was in remission. Throughout her life, the star - who took her own life in April 2022 - raised funds for Hepatitis C research and advocated the importance of maintaining hope in the face of a serious infection. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1998, Naomi said: "Hold on to hope, because it will help you get through it."
Natalie Cole
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The late singer learned she had Hepatitis C after the virus had been in her system for decades, probably due to heroin use in her youth. Natalie, who died of heart failure in December 2015, described in her memoir, 'Love Brought Me Back', how she learned of her infection after routine blood tests led her to kidney and liver specialists. She said: "Liver inflammation and scarring are insidious and silent and leave the affected person unaware that there is a problem."
Gregg Allman
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The legendary rock and roll star discovered he had Hepatitis C in 1999. But instead of seeking treatment at the time, he waited. Eleven years later, Gregg received a liver transplant, according to a May 2017 article in Billboard magazine, and later partnered with the American Liver Foundation and Merck to raise awareness about Hepatitis C infection, screening and treatment. Unfortunately, the transplant was not a cure for Allman, as he passed away from complications of liver cancer in May 2017.
Keith Richards
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The Rolling Stones guitarist revealed in his autobiography, 'Life', published in 2010, that he had contracted Hepatitis C. The musician, who has led a life marked by all kinds of excesses, admitted that he had not undergone any kind of treatment. He claimed, literally, that he had recovered thanks to his "incredible immune system."
Christopher Kennedy Lawford
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The nephew of President John F. Kennedy, known for his roles in soap operas such as 'All My Children' and 'General Hospital', and for authoring the book, 'Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption', which details his recovery from the addictions that most likely led to his Hepatitis C infection, was successfully treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The actor died at the age of 63 in September 2018 of "natural causes" at a yoga center, TMZ revealed.
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