What started as mild discomfort turned into a life-altering wake-up call for Jean Smart.
According to Fox News, the Emmy-winning actress is opening up about a frightening health scare that led to emergency triple-bypass surgery after she initially dismissed the warning signs.Â
At 74, Smart said she had grown accustomed to what she believed was simple fatigue.
“I had gotten used to feeling a little pressure, like if I’d go up a couple of flights of stairs. But it would always just go away,” she told Variety.
She admitted she brushed it off as a fitness issue rather than something more serious.
“And I would always think, ‘Jean, you’re in such crappy shape.’ It didn’t ever occur to me that it might be anything other than the fact that I needed to exercise more.”
Even while filming her hit series “Hacks,” Smart continued pushing through symptoms. She recalled feeling unusually tired during a physically demanding scene filmed on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
“After several takes, I was like, ‘Did you get it? Was that enough?’ I was feeling a little tired. But I didn’t think anything of it.”
The turning point came when she reflected on the death of her husband, Richard Gilliland, in 2021. The loss prompted her to take her health more seriously.
“I thought, ‘You haven’t seen your cardiologist in a long time. Don’t be stupid. Your kids just lost their dad!’ So I left her a message, since it was after hours. I said, ‘I know I probably can’t get in to see you this week, but maybe I should do a stress test or something.’ Her service called back instantly and said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to go to the nearest emergency room right now!'”
Still, Smart didn’t immediately leave work. She finished her scene before heading out.
“‘Flag on the play. We’re not going back home. We’re going to the hospital,'” she recalled telling her driver.
Her co-star and co-creator, Paul W. Downs, happened to be at the same hospital and witnessed the gravity of the situation unfold.
“I was there with her as she was talking to surgeons and hearing them say, ‘You can’t get a stent. You have to get a triple bypass,'” Downs said.
The reality of the procedure didn’t fully sink in until afterward.
“I wasn’t really scared until I woke up the next day, and I’m thinking about what they had to do,” Smart said. “You start to feel so fragile.”
At the time, both HBO Max and Universal Television kept details limited, confirming only that she had undergone a “heart procedure.”
In February 2023, Smart publicly shared an update during American Heart Month.
“February is American Heart Month – a time when the nation spotlights heart health, so it feels important to share with all of you that I am recovering from a recent successful heart procedure,” she wrote. “I am fortunate to have excellent care and support from family and friends while I continue to recuperate.”
She added a message for others to take their health seriously.
“Please listen to your body and talk to your doctor – I’m very glad I did!”
In a joint statement, HBO Max and Universal Television said, “We are so happy that our beloved Jean Smart’s heart procedure was successful and she’s on the mend. HBO Max and UTV send their well wishes.”
Smart did not disclose details about the surgery at the time, but now says the experience has changed how she views her health.
