Hailee Steinfeld Wishes ‘True Grit’ Co-Star Jeff Bridges Happy Birthday as He Undergoes Cancer Treatment

Hailee Steinfeld gave a birthday shoutout on Instagram to fellow True Grit star, Jeff Bridges, who turned 71 over the weekend. While this would be a sweet gesture regardless, it comes with some added weight this year. In early October, Bridges shared with the world that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

Since revealing he has cancer, Bridges has been an open book with his fans about his fight against the disease. He has kept a diary on his website that has provided some honest insight into his current state of affairs. One of his latest posts said he has experienced a range of feelings since learning of his cancer, among those being gratitude and love. “I’m feeling so much of it comin’ my way, and man, I appreciate it,” he wrote. “It’s contagious, all this love, like some kind of positive virus.” After he made the announcement about his health, his comments and replies were quickly flooded with fans and peers alike sending him their positive thoughts and best wishes, all of which have greatly lifted the spirit of Bridges. He wrote in his journal that seeing all of the messages from fans has felt good and has been a source of inspiration for him.

The Oscar-winning actor said at the time of his news reveal that he was thankful for the team of doctors he surrounded himself with, and despite it being a serious disease, he considers himself “fortunate” for being in the situation he faces. He also channeled his most iconic character from The Big Lebowski in his announcement post, “As the Dude would say… new S–t has come to light.”

True Grit came out in 2010 and was directed and produced by Joel and Ethan Coen. Bridges played Deputy U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn while Steinfeld played Mattie Ross. The movie also starred Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. Coming out at the end of the year during the holidays, the film brought in $25.6 million at the box office to exceed its own expectations. The film was Steinfeld’s first major role as a 14-year-old actress. Bridges called her performance “remarkable,” considering just how many lines she had and the “tricky way of speaking” that was involved in her part. Since then, Steinfeld has gone on to voice Spider-Gwen in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which she will reprise in the sequel, as well as appear in films like Bumblebee, The Edge of Seventeen and two Pitch Perfect movies. She currently is the star of Dickinson on Apple TV+ and will star in Disney+’s upcoming Hawkeye series.