Julia Louis-Dreyfus On How She Survived The Worst Year Of Her Life — ‘I Was Just Holding On Tight’

If there is one person who is glad a new year is here, it’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus. 2018 was a rough one for the Veep actress, as not only did she continue her battle with breast cancer, but in August she learned that her half-sister, Emma, died at the age of 44 after suffering a fatal seizure on a camping trip. Julia is now opening up about how she managed to survive what was the worst year of her life.

“I have a different kind of view of my life now,” the 57-year-old told The New Yorker. “I’ve seen that edge that we’re all going to see at some point, and which, really, as a mortal person you don’t allow yourself to consider, ever.” Asked whether her outlook has changed after her rough year, Julia said, “I was a little more breezy before.”

Julia also went into more detail about her battle with cancer, as well as how she continued using social media during it all. “There were people with long lenses trying to get pictures of me looking ill, and I think I kind of burst the bubble on a lot of it because of my social-media presence,” Julia told the outlet. Julia revealed if she ever gave into her “fear” or “self-pity” during her cancer battle. “Don’t misunderstand: I was to — my — bones terrified,” Julia said. “But I didn’t let myself — except for a couple of moments — go to a really dark place. I didn’t allow it.”

“You know if you get on a horse and you have really tight reins and the horse is galloping? I felt like I had really tight reins on myself. That’s what it felt like: I was just holding on tight,” Julia added. “I’ve had a really rough year, blah, blah, blah — you know, we’re getting through it.”

After a bit of a road diversion, Julia is back on track. Her popular show Veep is scheduled to premiere its final season this spring.

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