Sopranos and Entourage star Jamie Lynn Sigler, 34, has worked somewhat steadily for the past few years but it turns out that it’s been extremely difficult for her. In a new interview with People Magazine, she reveals that she’s been suffering from multiple sclerosis for the past 15 years. She has it under control now with medication, but still gets extremely tired doing things many people take for granted. Sigler also admits that she has to concentrate when she walks in order to land her feet properly. She explains that she kept it quiet for so long because she didn’t want it to affect her career. She’s still not positive she’s ready to publicly discuss it. Sigler just married her longterm partner, Washington Nationals baseball player Cutter Dykstra. The couple has a two-year-old son.
Jamie Lynn Sigler… opens up to PEOPLE in this week’s issue about her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), which she was diagnosed with at 20 years old.
“I wasn’t ready until now,” Sigler says of revealing her illness. “You’d think that after all these years, somebody would be settled with something like this, but it’s still hard to accept.”
Though the Sopranos alum, 34, initially went symptom-free “for quite some time,” the disease, which damages the central nervous system, “reared its ugly head” over the last decade. “I can’t walk for a long period of time without resting. I cannot run. No superhero roles for me,” she says, laughing. “Stairs? I can do them but they’re not the easiest. When I walk, I have to think about every single step, which is annoying and frustrating.”
Working over the years after The Sopranos ended meant covering up her illness. “Sometimes all I needed was like five or 10 minutes to sit and recharge but I wouldn’t ask, because I didn’t want them to be suspicious,” she says. While MS has no cure, Sigler has “run the gamut” with MS drugs including injections and infusions and now takes the twice-daily pill Tecfidera, which has kept her symptoms stable for the past six years.
“Things are manageable now,” she adds. “It takes a fighting attitude to deal with all this. This disease can absolutely take over your life if you let it…
“I’m at a point in my life with my son, with my new marriage, it’s a new me. I don’t want to hold a secret where it feels like I have something to be ashamed of or have something to hide,” she tells PEOPLE. “It’s part of me, but it’s not who I am.”
In the video posted on People’s site, Sigler adds “I want to change people’s ideas of what this disease means to them and give people hope that it’s not the end.” She also explains that she had been diagnosed with lyme the year before.
When I was around 30 and was otherwise fit I developed a sudden illness that put me in a wheelchair for about six months. I was dizzy all the time, I couldn’t concentrate and I can very much relate to what Jamie is saying about having to think and focus when you walk. I eventually recovered, having never received a diagnosis (it may have been lyme, I lived in Connecticut and used to hike), and that gives me a lot of empathy for people who battle invisible illnesses. It’s something that’s hard to explain and even I have trouble remembering how awful it was now that I’m doing well again. People see that you look fine and assume you feel fine. My heart goes out to Sigler and good for her for coming out with her diagnosis. It’s the gossip columnist in me, but I do wonder if she got an endorsement deal with a pharmaceutical company, because nearly every article mentions the medication she takes. So far there’s nothing on the website for the drug so there might not be anything to my hunch – not that I would blame her, especially if the medication has worked for her.
Event photos are from 1-9-16 and candids are from 1-19-16. Credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet
Wishing her all the best. My mom had MS, and it was devastating, but it’s also a tremendously variable disease, and treatment has come a long way in recent years.
I’m glad she found a loving partner who wasn’t afraid of her condition. Health is everything when you get down to it, and Jamie Lynn’s story is a reminder for me not to take it for granted.
Ugh I hate reading stories on MS, as my sister has it and it scares the living crap out of me. I’m glad she has the money and access to medication that keeps it under control and I hope one day everybody can have access to it. I know everybody has different variations of the disease but affordable medication is a must.
I can empathize, I have to think about every step, too. I don’t have, MS, but CMT & I also don’t want people at work to know.
CMT is Charcot-Marie Tooth.
First of all, that kid is precious. The face!
I can’t imagine what it must be like when your body tells you no all day. She sounds like she’s handling it well and is in a great place. I really wish her all the best.
Wow, she’s had it almost as long as I have. I have a fairly mild form of it so far, but I so relate to what she said about tiring easily and running (Iike, it’s not happening unless someone chases me with an axe). Hope her treatment continues to go well.
Was this a rumor or blind item way back when? When I saw this story this morning I thought “oh yeah, I remember that.”
I felt the same way. Maybe it was…
As someone with MS, I’m always happy when there’s more exposure for the illness. However, it’s bittersweet because I’d never wish this illness on anyone. I’m hoping she can continue in remission as long as possible.
This awful. I hope her meds continue to make it manageable for her. Her boy is adorable. Good luck, Jamie.
Aww, good for her for speaking out!! My best friend has it and is currently in the hospital with 4 broken ribs from a fall. It really does affect balance among so many other things. I wish her the all best!
Wow, Celebitchy, that’s terrible, but great that you recovered! A similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago when I just went numb from the waist down on my right side. It was transverse myelitis, which is similar to MS in that it involves lesions in the spine. It can resolve itself; it can never resolve; or it can develop more lesions which then becomes MS. Mine recovered mostly but my right leg and hand are weaker and I can’t walk very far or drive very long. Nothing can be done. Autoimmune disorders are scary.
Aww.. my Mom has MS, it’s tough.
I’m glad she’s speaking out. I hope she continues with better health.
(I highly doubt she got anything from a pharmaceutical company as many manufacturers of these big time medications offer tons of patient assistance programs enabling normal people to afford the meds.)
I have had 2 patients mis-diagnosed with MS when it was actually lyme disease. Igenix, a firm in California, has the most accurate LD test currently on the market. As a Licensed Acupuncturist, LD hadn’t been on my radar until a patient came to me with it~he has been in a wheelchair the last 13 years, and has had the MS diagnosis for over 25 years. I went to an ILADS.org conference and had my eyes opened about the serious, crippling effects chronic LD has on the entire body. It is no joke!!
I have MS too. I as diagnosed in September. This story scares me and I agree with the commentators above- brave of her but sad. I haven’t told many people either bc I have a high level position and I worry it would be used as an excuse to attack me. I’m already the only woman in my position so it’s hard enough. My doctors say there is a lot of hope.
I’m sorry about your diagnosis-I’m sure it’s been very stressful (and I’m sure saying that it’s been “very stressful” is an understatement). In terms of the work situation, I would check to see what your legal protection/rights would be if you ever choose to or need to disclose.
One of my dearest friends has advanced MS (she’s only 53 years old) and it breaks my heart to watch her struggle. Unfortunately treatment options are still pretty limited these days.