Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed Thursday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, announcing the sad news on Twitter in a written statement. In doing so, Louis-Dreyfus took a page from Jimmy Kimmel, using the sad news to make a positive statement about healthcare in America. Kimmel, of course, had a son born with a life threatening heart defect, and he went on to make headlines as he championed the right of any parent to be able to care for their sick child, regardless of income or status.
Likewise, Louis-Dreyfus expressed a similar sentiment:
1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one.
The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let’s fight all cancers and make universal healthcare a reality.
Just when you thought… pic.twitter.com/SbtYChwiEj
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) September 28, 2017
Although Louis-Dreyfus did not reveal any details, all of us hope that her cancer was caught early on and she’ll make a quick recovery. The news comes less than two weeks after the Veep star took home a sixth consecutive Emmy for playing Selina Meyer — setting a record for number of Emmys won by a performer in the same role, for the same series.
