Celebrity News April 29, 2025
Olivia Munn Reveals She Almost Quit Acting After Breast Cancer Battle (Exclusive)
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Women's Cancer Research Fund
Olivia Munn graced the Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s pink carpet for their “An Unforgettable Evening” fundraiser on Monday night.
“Extra” spoke with the “Your Friends & Neighbors” actress, who has been open about her health journey after her breast cancer diagnsis in 2023.
Olivia, who was being honored with the Courage Award, was feeling “very emotional” at the fundraiser, where she wore a vintage Chloe cream dress.
Due to her cancer diagnosis, Munn’s priorities have changed.
She shared, “The most important thing to me has been to be there for my children and the time I get with my kids, and also, to be able to nurture myself and do the things that I love and get back into acting."
Olivia revealed, "It’s something that I — after this journey — I thought that I was done with. I actually called my reps and said, ‘I don’t want to be in front of the camera anymore. I’m gonna do some stuff behind the scenes.'"
Olivia elaborated, “I'm juggling being a mom with my new baby girl and then, you know, doing the show [“Your Friends & Neighbors”] that I love so much and then promoting it... and then to be able to be here, and having people still spread the message about the lifetime risk assessment test, and helping to fund research for breast cancer... It’s a big ball of emotions of gratitude right now.”
When her support team was brought up, Munn emphasized, “I’m lucky that so many people in my life have stepped up for me and supported me and loved me. I feel even luckier to be able to love so many people and to be able to feel love for that many people in your life and to know that every single person who I’ve met, even like more than just my core circle.”
Showing love for husband John Mulaney, Olivia added, “It went from the beginning to be my family and John and my close friends being my support team, and after talking about it, that support team has expanded. I mean, every time someone comes up to me to talk to me about their own cancer, or their mother’s, or wife’s, or sister’s... There’s such a connection that I feel and we’re all rooting for each other, and we’re all there for each other.”
Olivia also shared a quote that resonated with her: “Welcome to the worst club with the best members.”
“It's true," she reflected. "It’s a really sweet sisterhood."
Olivia also spoke openly about how much she has grown to love and appreciate her body through motherhood and her cancer journey.
“My stomach didn’t go back to the way it used to look [after I had my son],” she admitted. “At first I was hard on myself, because I would look at other people — especially on Instagram — who had just had babies around the same time as me, and, like, they’re back to wearing midriffs, and I still can’t do that.”
She noted, “But I look at my baby boy and I’m like, ‘He wouldn’t be here if my body didn’t bring him into this world.’”
Munn stressed, “Every little, you know, saggy part of my skin or my stomach, or how everything looks different — I just, I am so grateful for my body and I love my body for being able to bring my son into this world.”
She added, "People have asked me this question a lot... They'll say it like as an assumption. They'll say, 'Did you feel your body betrayed you when you were diagnosed with breast cancer?'" She shared, "Not once did I ever think that my body was betraying me because my body is the thing that is going to get me through this. Together, my spirt, my soul, my energy and my body, that's what's carrying me through."
