Olivia Munn says advice from Shannen Doherty helped shape how she approached her own breast cancer battle, telling an audience in Los Angeles the late actor urged her to be “so aggressive” in confronting the disease.
Olivia Munn says advice from Shannen Doherty helped shape how she approached her own breast cancer battle, telling an audience in Los Angeles the late actor urged her to be “so aggressive” in confronting the disease
Olivia, 45, spoke about the guidance she received from Shannen during Los Angeles Magazine’s The L.A. Woman Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday (13.03.26), where Olivia was honoured as Woman of the Year.
Olivia said she and Shannen developed a close relationship in the months before Shannen died in July 2024 aged 53 after a long battle with breast cancer that had metastasised to her bones and brain.
During the event, Olivia reflected on her diagnosis, her treatment journey and the advice she received from Shannen. Olivia also used the occasion to encourage women to take the Tyrer-Cuzick breast cancer risk assessment test – a screening tool used to calculate a woman’s five-year and lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
The event audience included Jennie Garth, Corinne Foxx, Jane Seymour and Olivia’s close friend Jessica St. Clair.
Speaking during the event, Olivia recalled advice Shannen had given her while she was navigating her diagnosis.
She said: “She said to me having gone through this… she said just be so aggressive,” according to remarks delivered during a conversation with Los Angeles Magazine editor Jasmin Rosemberg.
Olivia also told the audience she viewed herself as fortunate to have had the opportunity to fight the illness.
She said: “I don’t look at cancer like, ‘I can’t believe I went through this, it’s really unfair.’ There’s no place in my mind and my energy to think about how things are unfair. I just think thank God I’m one of the lucky ones.”
During the luncheon Olivia described her diagnosis and the steps that followed after screening tests earlier in her journey. She said she had received a clear mammogram and ultrasound in January 2023 and had tested negative on a genetic mutation test, but the Tyrer-Cuzick risk assessment showed a 37.3% lifetime risk of breast cancer – a result considered high risk. After undergoing an MRI in April she learned she had Luminal B breast cancer in both breasts.
Olivia said she underwent five surgeries as part of her treatment, including a lymph node dissection, nipple delay procedure, a double mastectomy with reconstruction, an oophorectomy to remove her ovaries and a partial hysterectomy. Her surgeries concluded in April 2025.
Reflecting on the experience, Olivia said: “I used to be really tough and I felt like any fight that came my way I would take it. I would not shy away from confrontation.”
She continued: “What I realized since having cancer is that, I have this armor on. I think a lot of women, we need to protect ourselves with this big heavy armor and I looked at this mountain that I had to climb and I was like, I cannot climb a mountain this high holding all this extra weight, so I had to drop it.”
Olivia said reaching the other side of the experience changed how she viewed vulnerability.
She said: “I’m so much stronger the more vulnerable I am and I’m able to carry that with me every day.”
She added: “We really don’t know our courage and bravery until it’s put to test and now I know that I have it in me. I know I can take on anything.”
Olivia, who shares two children – Malcolm, 4, and Méi, 1 – with her husband John Mulaney, 43, also said she is working with Senator Mark Kelly, 61, to advocate for making the lifetime breast cancer risk assessment test standard care.
She said: “I don’t feel that it’s fair for women to always have to know about the things they need to ask their doctors to do.”
Olivia had previously thanked Shannen for supporting her during her illness while speaking at the Hollywood Creative Alliance’s Astra TV Awards in June 2025.
After Shannen’s death in July 2024, Olivia wrote on social media: “Just a couple of months ago, she asked how I was doing and if she could do anything for me. True to form, Shannen was offering me her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease.”
