Entertainment

Julia Louis -Dreyfus: Veep a life-saver during cancer fight

The actress played fictional vice president Selina Meyer in the hit show.
The actress played fictional vice president Selina Meyer in the hit show. The actress played fictional vice president Selina Meyer in the hit show.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has said her hit show Veep was a “life-saver” as she battled cancer.

The actress, 58, played fictional vice president Selina Meyer in the political comedy, which wrapped up this year after seven series.

She said her role gave her something to focus on when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Louis-Dreyfus, who went public with her diagnosis in September 2017, told Entertainment Tonight: “I’ve had a lot of personal challenges, losses, dear ones in my family, my own battle with cancer.”

She said she did not know how she would have handled it all “had I not had this really close intimate relationship with all of these people”.

She said: “We linked arms and we tried to do the most joyful funny thing possible as a team. It was like being on a sports team… and that was the most buoying thing, to constantly be coming back to. It really helped me.”

The actress went on: “It gave me something to laser focus on during my illness, and I needed to laser focus [on something] beyond my illness, so it was a life-saver.”

Louis-Dreyfus revealed in October 2018 that she was cancer-free.

Earlier this year, she said going through six rounds of chemotherapy helped her work out what really mattered in her life.

She told Net-a-Porter’s magazine, PorterEdit: “[Cancer] finally crystallised my priorities, which didn’t really need that much crystallisation.

“But I would certainly say that I have an even deeper appreciation for the good stuff. That sounds corny, but it’s f****** true.”