Kristen Johnston Talks Confidence at 57, New Comedy ‘Leanne’ and Fighting for Her Health: ‘I Was Dismissed by Doctors—It Pissed Me Off’ (EXCL)
Plus, her secrets to overcoming lupus, healing weight loss and thriving after 50
Two-time Emmy-winning actress Kristen Johnston is embracing the simple pleasures in life—laughter, friendship and quality time with her beloved dogs Archie, Hamish, Lucky and Stewie.
“Dogs have kept me young,” says 57-year-old Johnston, who radiates confidence and humor as Woman’s World’s latest cover star (get your copy here). “They keep you exercised because you have to walk them. And there’s someone to cuddle, so you’re not on Tinder or whatever, looking for love in all the wrong places. They release oxytocin. They are so beneficial to your mental health. They have saved my life for sure.”
These days, the 3rd Rock From the Sun alumna is happy, healthy and back in the spotlight with a starring role in Leanne, a new Netflix sitcom debuting July 31. But she admits her journey to this joyful chapter hasn’t been easy.
Woman's World Answers
Kristen Johnston opens up about health challenges
Though Kristen Johnston is best known for her razor-sharp wit and comedic chops, she’s faced serious health battles behind the scenes—and getting answers wasn’t easy.
“You have to fight for yourself,” Kristen tells Woman’s World. “Being lost in the medical system is a really traumatic, terrible place to be when you know something is very wrong—sometimes even worse than the illness itself. And being a woman, I think a couple of doctors really thought I was making it up, or it was all in my head or anxiety. I was dismissed, so that pissed me off.”
After a long, frustrating search for answers—and seeing 17 doctors—Kristen finally found a doctor who listened and that made all the difference. She was diagnosed with lupus myelitis, a rare autoimmune disease that affects the spinal cord. At the time, the situation was dire.
“I was 46 years old and couldn’t lift my neck without a brace,” she recalls. “My doctor said if we had waited any longer to start treatment—which included chemotherapy and steroids—I would have ended up a quadriplegic.”
Thankfully, after six months of treatment, Kristen went into remission. But managing an autoimmune disease brought its own challenges. “Anyone with an autoimmune disease knows the medicine makes your body go haywire,” she says, noting that she began looking for answers when her medication caused her to gain weight. “I went on this diet called low FODMAP. It’s low or no gluten, very little sugar and it ended up helping my tummy, which was having issues since I hit menopause. I tried it, and within a week, I felt a million times better. I dropped a ton of weight and healed my stomach, and now I’m back on normal foods.”
Now, Kristen is grateful for both her health and her hard-earned perspective. “I went through a lot to get where I am today, but I’m alive and I’m happy in my skin. I feel blessed,” she shares. “If you’re struggling, just keep going. It gets better.”
Kristen Johnston talks Leanne: A show about starting over
In Netflix’s Leanne, created by Chuck Lorre, Susan McMartin and comedian Leanne Morgan, Kristen Johnston stars alongside Morgan, Tim Daly, Ryan Stiles, Celia Weston, and others. The show follows Leanne, a woman rebuilding her life after her husband of 33 years leaves her.
“I love the idea of two women of a certain age trying to move past a lot of mistakes and heartbreak, and they really come together,” Kristen Johnston says of the series. “When they told me it was a show about a woman of a certain age starting over and her sister and their relationship, I was on board right away.”
Though Leanne Morgan brings a devoted fanbase to the series thanks to her popular stand-up comedy, Johnston believes the show’s themes will resonate far beyond. “The humor is universal. It’s definitely going to attract her ladies,” she notes. “But I also think anyone who’s ended a marriage, been betrayed, started over when they thought their life was going one way, knows what it’s like to take care of their family, their aging parents, anyone who has a sister—will all be able to relate. It’ll have a broad appeal.”
Kristen Johnston on surviving and thriving over 50
Through it all, Kristen says humor has been her saving grace. “A sense of humor has gotten me through pretty much everything,” she says. “It’s definitely a survival mechanism, but it’s also just healthy, I think, to have a sense of humor about your life. You have to keep it.”
Now in a place of peace and self-acceptance, Kristen Johnston reflects on how far she’s come. “Once you hit a certain age, everything you’ve gone through, you realize how powerful it’s made you,” she says. “Everything that almost killed you and didn’t, every moment you wanted to give up but you didn’t, has now forged this person who is unstoppable.”
“Being a survivor—because if you live past 45, you just are—automatically gives you carte blanche to have ownership of your life,” she adds. “You fought for it and you are now living in it and you’re in your skin. It’s no longer something you’re borrowing or trying on. It’s now you—fully.”
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