Anjelica Huston is opening up for the first time about her “bout with cancer.”
The Academy Award-winning actress, 73, revealed in an interview with PEOPLE published Wednesday that she was privately diagnosed with cancer following the release of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum in 2019.
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“That was a very serious moment for me,” Huston shared. “I managed to survive it, and I’m proud of myself.”
While the actress wanted to keep the details of her diagnosis private, she said it was “not something that came lightly” at that time. “It came as a big shock, but it made me conscious of what I shouldn’t do, of places I shouldn’t go,” Huston explained. “One of those places was taking life too seriously. So now when the opportunity arises, I laugh, and I try not to make a big deal out of things.”
The Addams Family actress is now “in the clear” with her health after marking four years cancer-free. The milestone “means so much” to Huston, who said, “It’s a fantastic thing. I’m very proud of myself, and I’ve been very lucky. My doctors have been wonderful.”
Huston, who still undergoes regular scans to manage her health, still remembers the moment she learned she was cancer-free four years ago. The Prizzi’s Honor star “just walked in my garden and smelled the roses and thought how clever I was” upon getting the good news.
Huston has kept her cancer battle to herself for six years now, but decided that it was time to open up about her health struggles publicly in hopes of helping others going through something similar.
“Sometimes you feel like you don’t want to talk about it for the obvious reasons, but there’s a lot to be said for talking about it and getting it out there and celebrating the fact that one’s come through,” she explained. “Life is tenuous and wonderful. It also gives you the idea that the world is big and you can somehow match up to it. That you’re ready for whatever happens.”
