3 days ago
Babe and Kath and Kim star Magda Szubanski announces cancer diagnosis
Kylie Minogue and Richard E Grant have sent "love" to Australian actress and comedian Magda Szubanski, following her announcement that she has been diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer.
The Liverpool-born actress, 64, known for her work on family films Happy Feet and Babe and their sequels, is "hopeful" that a new treatment will help her get through the illness.
The Melbourne resident posted on Instagram on Thursday, describing her stage four mantle cell lymphoma as a "rare and fast-moving blood cancer".
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A post shared by Magda Szubanski (@magda_szubanski)
Under the post, Australian singer and former Neighbours actress Minogue, who has previously spoken about going through breast cancer decades ago, wrote: "Sending all love" along with heart emojis.
Grant, who co-starred with Szubanski in the film Kath & Kimderella and whose wife, Joan Washington, died from lung cancer, wrote: "We all love you soooooo much Mags."
Jurassic Park star Sam Neill, who was diagnosed with a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, wrote to his Ride Like A Girl co-star saying: "Sending huge, healing love and hugs to you, dear Magda. "You are supported and held in all our hearts."
Muriel's Wedding actress Toni Collette, and singer and TV host, Dannii Minogue, also sent their support.
Collette said: "Sending huge, healing love and hugs to you, dear Magda. You are supported and held in all our hearts."
Minogue wrote: "We will see you walking down the street – everyone will be waving to you and sending long distance."
Along with the post, Szubanski appeared in a video saying she had shaved her head "in anticipation of it all falling out in a couple of weeks", which can be a common side effect of undergoing chemotherapy.
"It's serious, but I've started one of the best treatments available (the Nordic protocol), and I'm lucky to be getting absolutely world-class care here in Melbourne," Szubanski also wrote.
"I won't sugar-coat it: it's rough. But I'm hopeful. I'm being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant, and I've never felt more held by the people around me.
Szubanski received international acclaim for her role as the farmer's wife, Esme Hoggett, in the 1995 movie, Babe, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning one for visual effects.
She played sports-loving Sharon Strzelecki in Australian sitcom Kath and Kim, which inspired an American remake with the same name, and has been in Neighbours, and Oscar-nominated 2024 animated film, Memoir of a Snail.
Szubanski, who voiced the role of penguin teacher Miss Viola in the animated films Happy Feet in 2006 and Happy Feet Two in 2011, moved to Melbourne with her family in 1966 from the UK.
