No Misery here! After surviving cancer twice, Kathy Bates exclusively told Us Weekly she’s “grateful” to be in good health.
The Oscar-winning actress, 71, gave Us a health update at the 24 Hour Plays Broadway Gala in New York City on Monday, November 18. “It’s really good, so I’m grateful,” she said. “I mean, you never know when the shoe is going to drop again, but I’m just totally enjoying being lucky and alive and enjoying life and working — and have a great movie coming out.”
That movie is the biopic Richard Jewell — due for release on December 13 — in which Bates plays Bobi Jewell, the mother of the real-life security guard whose heroism lives during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
And the job was a joy for Bates, since it was directed by Clint Eastwood. “Oh, I just want to work with him forever,” she told Us. “He’s just still so sexy and cool and chill. Wonderful director. He lets the garden grow, and then he prunes it. He just loves actors. He’s never in his director’s chair — never — and he’s 89! He’s on the set working and everything.”
The American Horror Story star — who opened up to Us in January about her recent loss of nearly 60 pounds — was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003 and detailed the health scare six years later. And in 2012, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone a double mastectomy. “My family [calls] me Kat because I always land on my feet, and thankfully, this is no exception,” she said in a statement to Us at the time. “My doctors have assured me I’m going to be around for a long time.”
In 2015, Bates was diagnosed with lymphedema in both arms, and she has since become the national spokesperson for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network. She was the guest of honor at this year’s 24 Hour Plays Broadway Gala, which supported LE&N’s efforts to fight lymphedema and lymphatic disease through education, research and advocacy.
With reporting by Nicki Gostin
