Kate Walsh on How Overcoming Health Challenges Transformed Her Life Priorities

Kate Walsh opens up about how encountering significant health challenges, such as battling a brain tumor, has reshaped her perspective on life.

“It was overwhelming, yet at the same time, it was a powerful gift and a chance to hit the reset button,” Walsh, 58, revealed exclusively to Us Weekly during the Centrum Inside and Outside Makeover Salon Experience in New York City on Thursday, August 13. “I know it sounds like a cliché, but it truly was,” she admitted.

Reflecting on her initial reactions to various health scares, Walsh shared, “You always hear stories of people confronting health crises — be it cancer or a brain tumor — and if you’re fortunate enough to survive, the experience often compels a complete life overhaul. That’s precisely what I did,” she remarked.

She elaborated further: “Now, my approach to balancing work and life is entirely different. Previously, I would tell friends, ‘If you want to spend time with me, you’ll have to join me at work,’ because all I did was live for my job,” she explained.

While Walsh is still grateful for her professional success, she has also shifted her focus.

“That was great for a while. But even before, it was like, ‘OK, this is running its course and I want to spend more time with family and friends,’” she noted. “And I love traveling and I love finding ways to be of service. I get to do a lot of great stuff with Oceana and with Planned Parenthood. I get to do things and be with my love, [Andrew Nixon]. I have love in my life.”

Walsh is best known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and its spinoff, Private Practice. Outside of the medical drama world, she has been a consistent presence on screen with scene-stealing roles on 13 Reasons Why, The Umbrella Academy, Emily in Paris and more.

The actress teased on Thursday that she has more projects coming up in other mediums, including movies and theater. While Walsh is already booked and busy, she always makes time for her philanthropic work — and she’s using her platform to be more outspoken about healthy aging through a partnership with Centrum.

“There’s a lot of pressure in Hollywood to stay the same, but that’s just madness. It just doesn’t work,” she told Us. “It’s like a recipe for self-flagellation or feeling bad. So I want to look my best — obviously — and for myself, too. But it is odd to see [the conversations around aging in Hollywood].”

Walsh offered advice for those struggling with the idea of aging, saying, “Radical acceptance is a big one. Surrendering. I think that some people would confuse that with being defeated or giving up, but it’s not. Change happens, and we know this intellectually. Change is the only constant, but to live it is challenging, and do it a day at a time.”

She added: “You don’t stay 13 forever. You don’t stay 20 or 30 or 40. And it is a gift. We’re privileged to age. So for me, it is about being mindful but healthy. For me, dieting doesn’t work, but just having a balanced life does.”

Walsh has also added Centrum vitamins into her everyday wellness routine.

“I really didn’t get into serious supplements until probably my mid-30s, around the time that Centrum Age Defy would be great. Why I like Centrum Silver is it’s great for brain health,” she noted. “It’s great for brain function and heart health and eyes. These are things that as you age and get into your 50s become more prevalent and necessary than say they would when you’re younger. … Centrum vitamins are clinically proven and have been doing this for a very long time. There are so many things out there that this is quite comforting.”