It’s been quite the ride for Olivia Munn. In a new interview with Bustle, the star opened up about her battle with breast cancer, welcoming her second child Méi with comedian John Mulaney, and why she nearly walked away from acting altogether.
The 45-year-old revealed she experienced debilitating postpartum panic attacks after the birth of son Malcolm in November of 2021. Munn and Mulaney later welcomed Méi via surrogacy after receiving the devastating news that Munn had cancer.
“I think I just was tired of the business,” she said in regards to her career and the 5-year hiatus she took from 2019 to 2024. “I got tired of being out in public. I just was, like, tired of it.”
Munn went on to explain why she never planned to announce her retirement publicly. “I called my reps and told them not to put me up for anything. I wasn’t going to announce my retirement. I never understand actors who do that. You don’t play for the Dodgers.”
After her anxiety attacks subsided in 2023, an MRI revealed she had cancer in both breasts. Shockingly during surgery another lump was discovered and hastingly taken out. Almost a year after that, she had an oophorectomy and a hysterectomy.
When speaking about her diagnosis the actress says, “It was like slamming the brakes on my life. Beating cancer became my full-time job, and once I realized there was a free test women should know about, that became my only mission,” she told Bustle.
Around ten months after her life changing diagnosis, the star received the news that she booked a job.
Munn says that as soon as she read the script, she accepted the offer, but still had one more surgery to get through. “I told Jonathan Tropper, ‘I’m OK, but I’ve just gone through this.’ And he was so supportive. Everybody at Apple has been so supportive. They’ve donated to breast cancer research,” Munn recalled to Bustle.
immediately, Munn is focusing on season 2 of Your Friends and Neighbors and is looking forward to joining Mulaney on tour later this year. She ends the interview with this sentiment:
“I really want to focus on protecting the time that I have. If I was 80 years old, and I was told I could go back 40 years, I wouldn’t care about the mess. I wouldn’t care about how tired I am, or about whether she’s screaming in the car seat,” she says.
About the Author
