Rita Wilson, 69, Opens Up About Her Body After Breast Cancer Surgery

The actor and singer says her double mastectomy changed how she saw her body

Donna Freydkin,

AARP

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Published May 12, 2026

rita wilson smiling, wearing a black jacket and silver sequined top

Rita Wilson, who recently opened up about how breast cancer surgery changed her relationship with her body, attends a MusiCares event in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026.

Brianna Bryson/WireImage/Getty Images

Key takeaways

Rita Wilson is more than10 years cancer-free after a 2015 breast cancer diagnosis and bilateral mastectomy.
Her sixth studio album, Sound of a Woman, includes a song drawn directly from that experience.
More than 4 million women in the U.S. are breast cancer survivors.

Rita Wilson remembers looking in the mirror the night before her double mastectomy and saying goodbye to the body she knew.

The actor and singer, 69, told Variety that the moment stayed with her after her 2015 mastectomy.

“Looking at your body after you get those bandages off and thinking, OK, well, this is new,” said Wilson, whose credits include Sleepless in Seattle, Runaway Bride and The Good Wife.

That experience helped shape “Whose Body Is This?,” a track on Wilson’s album, Sound of a Woman, which was released May 1. The song connects two physical experiences that changed how she saw herself: giving birth and losing her breasts to cancer.

She told Variety that the song’s first verse draws on childbirth.

tom hanks and rita wilson posing together

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, seen here in April 2026, have been married since 1988.

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

“I remember feeling so empowered when I gave birth, like, I cannot believe that my body just did this.”

The second verse came from the mastectomy. Wilson described fear, terror and loss, but said the experience also left her thankful.

“Feeling enormous gratitude for what your body actually can do to heal and keep you alive,” she said. “There are the things we do, and then even the things that we don’t do, where our body is still working, like, No, I got you. I’m still here, making it work for you.”

In a separate interview with People, Wilson said the surgery forced her to take stock of her new reality.

“These parts of your body that had been there for you in such a beautiful way were gone,” she said.

Wilson, who has had breast reconstruction, also said she was grateful for options that were not available to many women in earlier generations.

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“You were left with sort of a shadow,” she told People, referring to women in her mother’s generation.

Then she added a joke about her own implants: “I like to say that I’ve finally gone Hollywood now and I have some in place.”

The larger point, Wilson said, was not replacement. It was appreciation.

“It was interesting to look at my body in that way and see it, understand what is missing, but also [see] what my body could do to keep me healing and healthy and have that appreciation,” she told People.

Wilson marked 10 years cancer-free on March 31, 2025, with a video she posted on Instagram: “Thank you, docs. Thank you to those I love. Ten Years,” she wrote.

Breast cancer resources

If someone you love is facing a breast cancer diagnosis, AARP has resources for caregivers.

Her husband, Tom Hanks, 69, was part of her recovery. Wilson and Hanks have been married since 1988. They have two sons together: Chet, 35, and Truman, 30. Wilson told The New York Times in 2015 that she had wondered how Hanks would respond after her diagnosis. “I was so amazed, so blown away by the care my husband gave me,” she said. “Who knew it would make you even closer?”

Wilson is one of more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, per the American Cancer Society. About 84 percent of women with breast cancer are over 50, as reported by AARP. Wilson was 58 when she got her diagnosis. According to People, Wilson had a precancerous condition called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and was keeping close tabs on it with annual mammograms and breast MRIs. Two biopsies later, doctors found a more aggressive precancerous condition. The initial pathology report came back showing no cancer, but a friend told her to get a second opinion. A different pathologist looked at the same tissue and found actual cancer. A third pathologist confirmed it.

Wilson offered a wider view of survival in an April interview with The Guardian.

“Now I see my cancer as a gift — an extra lease on life,” Wilson said. “After that, anything that was not truly important just melted away.”

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Donna Freydkin has spent 10-plus years interviewing celebrities for major publications, and has written for a variety of outlets such as USA Today, Allure, Yahoo! and CNN covering topics such as films, family and favorite meals.

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