‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Kate Walsh, 58, Opens up About Early Menopause and the Signs She Missed
Plus learn why she's shifted her mindset on aging, saying 'We're lucky to age!'
Key Takeaways
- Kate Walsh experienced early menopause while starring on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
- Her demanding work schedule initially masked some of her menopause symptoms.
- Walsh embraces healthy aging with flexibility, self-care and listening to her body.
When you finally reach menopause, life doesn’t suddenly stop moving just because it has begun. Instead, you find a way to juggle family life, work and a never-ending to-do list all while battling hot flashes, brain fog and insomnia. Screen Actors Guild Award-winning Grey’s Anatomy actress Kate Walsh, 58, is no stranger to finding that balance, even while playing the beloved Dr. Addison Montgomery on the hit series. In an exclusive interview with Woman’s World, Walsh shared how she navigated early menopause while on Grey’s Anatomy, what she wants other women to know about menopause and why she partnered with Centrum to shift the conversation from anti-aging to healthy aging.
Kate Walsh experienced early menopause on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Despite playing a surgeon on Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice, Walsh says it wasn’t her on-screen roles that taught her about menopause, but instead her own experience with it while playing the character.
“I went through early menopause,” Walsh told Woman’s World. “Technically, it started when I was on Grey’s [Anatomy], and then it went into Private Practice and then they incorporated it into the storyline for Addison, as often happens when you’re on a show. That’s if you’re lucky enough to be on a show that has success, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re storylines. Hey, let’s take something out of your life.’”
“It was really difficult because even then, that was, gosh, almost 20 years ago [or] 18 years ago, and there wasn’t a lot of information still in the culture like there is now,” Walsh continued. “Now menopause is… let’s say menopause is having a moment. She’s the pretty girl at the dance. You know everyone’s aware of perimenopause and menopause, which is fabulous, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating or challenging. My own experience with it was really how I got how I got aware of it. You’re like, welcome to some hot flashes and night sweats and sleeplessness and anxiety. Whew, bring it on.”
What is early menopause?
You may be familiar with menopause, but if you’re wondering what experiencing early menopause refers to, Anna Cabeca, DO, FACOG, triple-board certified ob-gyn, regenerative and integrative medicine physician, offers some insight.
“Early menopause is menopause that occurs between ages 40 and 45,” says Dr. Cabeca. “When menopause occurs before age 40, we generally refer to it as premature menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency, depending on the circumstances.”
The menopause symptoms Kate Walsh missed
While we’ve all heard about hot flashes and insomnia, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll recognize the symptoms in ourselves—especially if you start menopause earlier than expected.
“Because I was also at a time where I was still getting like four or five hours’ sleep, and I was working crazy hours, it was kind of easily masked by my work schedule and the nature of the work that we’re doing— the emotional things and highs and lows,” says Walsh. “Not getting a lot of sleep was sort of my MO, and it wasn’t until after when I was like, ‘Oh, I need sleep.’”
“So it was sort of masked for a while,” she continues.
Why we don’t always recognize the signs of menopause
Dr. Cabeca says that Walsh’s experience of not recognizing menopause symptoms is not uncommon. “When women are juggling demanding careers, families, caregiving, travel or simply very busy lives, it can be incredibly easy to attribute menopause symptoms to stress,” Dr. Cabeca explains. “You assume the brain fog is because you’re overworked. You blame poor sleep on deadlines. You think the fatigue is because you’re doing too much or the weight changes are because you haven’t had time to exercise. Meanwhile, your hormones may be shifting underneath all of that.”
Walsh’s advice for women entering menopause? “Getting support, self-care, getting and being patient with yourself, honestly, maybe as basic as that sounds, and surrendering to it as opposed to, ‘I’ve got to fight this, I’ve got to stop this,’” says Walsh. “And this segues into why I wanted to partner with Centrum, because it’s about a holistic approach to aging and health, not just from the inside out, but really going, ‘Okay, we’re not going to stop this. We’re not going to turn aging back. We have to embrace where we are, and how can we do it in the most holistic, healthful way, both externally and internally?’”
Walsh’s approach to healthy aging
When it comes to menopause and aging, some messaging seems to center around anti-aging and preventing the inevitable, but Walsh takes a much more holistic approach. She shares that rather than following a strict, inflexible wellness regimen, she honors what her body needs. “I give myself permission to change my mind and change my schedule,” says Walsh.
“If you’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Even though I have that workout scheduled, I’m going to cancel it so I can sleep because that’s actually what my body needs,’ as opposed to pushing through, and that’s going to make me feel inflamed, cranky and have negative returns,” she says.
Flexibility and honoring where she’s at is also the approach she takes to healthy aging. To Walsh, healthy aging means “a lot of acceptance and surrender.”
“Also, I think it’s an important part of what we’re doing here,” she continues. “It’s storytelling. It’s like changing the narrative and talking about how it’s healthy to age. We’re lucky to age. Like, yay, we’re still here! And how do we do it as opposed to avoiding it or fighting it or stopping it or changing it? It’s like how do we embrace it and be mindful and enjoy it?”
The bottom line
While starting menopause may feel like stepping into the unknown, taking a page from Walsh’s book and embracing the blessing of aging while supporting your body through all its stages is a great place to start.
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