‘I adore these people and I adore the show’
Selina Meyer’s time in office might be drawing to a close ahead of the final season of HBO’s Veep, but star Julia Louis-Dreyfus told Jimmy Kimmel Thursday that she’s beginning a new phase of life as she returns to work on the Emmy-winning series after beating breast cancer.
“I’m good; I’m really good. And I’m not just saying that…. I’m here, and I know we have to get this cancer s— out of the way, so bring on the questions!” she joked during her appearance on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, referencing her recent battle. “I feel very strong and I’ve got red lips, so what could go wrong? Everything is good. I’m back at work on Veep, which is amazing.”
The actress — who plays the titular politician on the ensemble political comedy — said the process of bringing the show to its conclusion is “bittersweet.”
“I adore these people and I adore the show and what we’ve been able to achieve with it,” she told Kimmel of the long-running comedy’s impending season 7 conclusion, of which she has only three episodes left to film and is set to air in spring 2019.
Louis-Dreyfus also discussed her decision to publicly document her cancer journey on social media after first revealing her diagnosis in a Sept. 28, 2017 Instagram post.
“I did it for a couple of reasons: we had to stall Veep production because of my situation, and a lot of people worked for me and I knew I couldn’t keep it private. I had to tell everybody what was going on,” she explained. “I embraced that and got a lot of positive feedback. People liked that I had a sense of humor about it. I think it’s an important conversation to have about health and healthcare. I very much considered the notion, as someone battling this disease, the idea that I might not have health insurance — which I do thanks to my great union — is completely terrifying.”
“Healthcare should be for all, I believe that now,” she finished. “I believed it before, but now I really know it.”
