11 celebrities who overcame breast cancer, from Olivia Munn, Kylie Minogue, Sheryl Crow and Linda Evangelista, to Angelina Jolie and Christina Applegate – who’s helping women pay for MRI screenings

Mar 17, 2024

Hollywood celebs like Angelina Jolie, Olivia Munn and Sheryl Crow have all either advocated for breast cancer awareness or survived the disease. Photos: AFP

Days after walking the Oscars red carpet with partner John Mulaney, actress Olivia Munn revealed on Instagram that she was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago and had undergone a double mastectomy

The ‘Angelina Jolie effect’ urged many women to take preventive measures – a line that’s echoed by other celeb survivors such as Seinfeld’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus and SATC’s Cynthia Nixon

Actress Olivia Munn revealed on Wednesday that she had undergone a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The X-Men: Apocalypse and The Newsroom actress took to Instagram to tell followers her news, just days after she attended the Oscars ceremony with her comedian partner, John Mulaney.

Olivia Munn, 43, shared on Instagram recently that she was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago. Photo: @oliviamunn/Instagram

The 43-year-old said the cancer had been discovered almost a year ago after her doctor noted she was at elevated risk for the disease and suggested she undergo an additional scan, 12 months before a routine screening.

After initial tests, a biopsy was ordered. “The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast moving cancer,” she wrote, adding that the double mastectomy was performed 30 days later.

John Mulaney and Olivia Munn arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on March 10. Photo: Reuters

Looking radiant, Munn walked the red carpet at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood where her other half Mulaney presented an Oscar and later attended the celebrity-filled Vanity Fair after party together.

So which other celebrities have also braved the life-threatening disease and survived?

1. Angelina Jolie

US actress and humanitarian campaigner Angelina Jolie made headlines in 2013 when she took the initiative to undergo a double mastectomy, even though she was not diagnosed with breast cancer. Photo: AFP