Getty Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed on Twitter Thursday that she has breast cancer. She used the moment to call for universal health care in the U.S. The Emmy-winning actress, who is about to start filming the last season of HBO’s Veep, announced the news on Twitter. Louis-Dreyfus won her record-breaking sixth consecutive Emmy earlier this month for the show.
The 56-year-old Louis-Dreyfus announced the diagnosis with a tweet captioned “Just when you thought…”
“1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one,” the Seinfeld actress wrote. “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 health care a reality.”
Just when you thought…
Louis-Dreyfus did not give further details of her diagnosis. According to Cancer.net, if breast cancer is found only in the breast, the five-year relative survival rate is 99 percent, meaning that 99 percent live at least five years after the diagnosis. There are about 3 million women living in the U.S. with breast cancer.
Louis-Dreyfus is best known for her Emmy-winning roles on Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep. She’s won 11 Emmys in her career, tying her with Cloris Leachman for the most ever. That tally includes six consecutive wins for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Veep, in which she plays Selina Meyer. She started her TV career on Saturday Night Live.
The actress is married to Brad Hall, a writer and producer who worked on SNL. They have two sons, Charlie Hall and Henry Hall.
Her father is the late Gérard C. Louis-Dreyfus, who died at age 84 in September 2016, days before Louis-Dreyfus won another Emmy for Veep.
Louis-Dreyfus has a Golden Globe and one Emmy for Seinfeld. She has one for The New Adventures of Old Christine. She has six Emmys for acting in Veep, plus three more as a producer on the show, which has won Outstanding Comedy Series three years in a row.
Armando Ianucci, who created Veep, wrote on Twitter:
