Just days after appearing at the 2024 Oscars red carpet, actress Olivia Munn has announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer on February 2023 and underwent a double mastectomy. The 43-year-old recounted her experience on an Instagram post, in which she thanked her partner John Mulaney for standing by her side.
“I’m so thankful to John [Mulaney] for the nights he spent researching what every operation and medication meant and what side effects and recovery I could expect. For being there before I went into each surgery and being there when I woke up,” she wrote.
The pair have been together since May 2021, shortly after Mulaney announced her separation from his wife of six years, Anna Marie Tendler. While Munn and Mulaney have sparked marriage rumors, they haven’t tied the knot. Back in June 2022, a source told US Weekly that Munn was “not in a rush to get married. It’s definitely not her focus right now.”
Does Olivia Munn have kids?
Munn and Mulaney shared a son, Malcolm, who was born in November 2021. In a comment on her Instagram post about her breast cancer, the comedian commented: “Thank you for fighting so hard to be here for us. Malc and I adore you. ❤️”
Mulaney was the first one to reveal the news of the pregnancy back in September 2021 on Late Night With Seth Meyers, stating that Munn and the baby were key to his addiction recovery journey.
The comedian voluntarily checked into rehab for alcoholism and cocaine addiction in December 2020. He has been open about his recovery journey on his Emmy-winning special “Baby J,” which premiered on Netflix in April 2023.
Olivia Munn’s breast cancer diagnosis: Her statement
On her Instagram post, Munn, best known for his roles in “Magic Mike,” “X-Men: Apocalypse” and more, wrote that she hopes that “by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey.”
Munn explained that thanks to her if it weren’t for her OBGYN, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, who calculated her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score, her cancer might have gone undetected for another year until her next scheduled mammogram.
“Dr. Aliabadi looked at factors like my age, familial breast cancer history, and the fact that I had my first child after the age of 30. She discovered my lifetime risk was at 37%. Because of that score I was sent to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy. The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast moving cancer,” the statement read.
Munn underwent a 10-hour surgery shortly 30 days after her diagnosis. She emphasizes the importance of early detection and urges women to ask their doctors to calculate their Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. “I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day,” she wrote.
