Im interviewing Olivia Munn tomorrow.I texted a friend.Dont you know her?
He texted back in seconds:We arent in touch now but worked/socialized back in the day.
I genuinely liked her.
Max Mara blazer. Araks bra. Giorgio Armani sunglasses.
She was smart, nice, didnt take herself too seriously.
My friend confirmed what Id always suspected: that Munn is kind, smart, and funny.
This is what I was thinking about as I pulled up to her home the next day.
Guest In Residence top. Hermes briefs. Maria La Rosa socks. Aeyde mules. Jennifer Fisher earrings.
She greets me at the door and preemptively apologizes for the mess.
Sorry about this, she says, picking up a strand of spaghetti flung on a chair.
I was trying to get Malcom to eat and he wanted to see if it would stick.
Stella McCartney tank top. Staud sweater. Issey Miyake shorts. Comme Si socks. Sportmax pumps. David Yurman bracelet. Agmes earrings. Misho earring.
Its a tornado, as Munn calls it.
But one that comes from excitement and joy and chasing each other around.
Games half-played because its time to eat; food barely touched because its time for a new game.
Stella McCartney tank top. Staud sweater. Agmes earrings. Misho earring.
The inmates are running the asylum.
And the new parents couldnt be prouder.
I drop my stuff on the dining room table and watch as Munn assembles lunch.
Polo Ralph Lauren cap. Staud top. Stylist’s own vintage skirt. Isabel Marant belt. Maria la Rosa socks. Jude mules. Misho ring.
At last, lunch is ready.
Grilled artichokes, Brussel sprouts, spicy corn salad, lime wedges.
Its a bright, optimistic, Southern California meal that matches the bright, optimistic, Southern California view.
Polo Ralph Lauren cap. Staud top. Stylist’s own vintage skirt. Isabel Marant belt. Misho ring.
The series stars Munn as Sam Levitt, who has a secret affair with Jon Hamms Andrew Coop Cooper.
I was operating normally, but I was feeling very depressed, Munn says.
I reached out to some of them.
Fendi dress. Ganni pants. Maria La Rosa socks. Aeyde mules. Misho ring.
That wasnt Munns speed.
I didnt even have the ability to fake it.
I didnt have the energy to fake anything they were faking.
Dior bodysuit. Breda watch.
Theres a lesson hereon what we can control, on what we can forgive.
Or maybe, I suggest, its a lesson on letting the universe take over?
It was devastating for me not to be able to carry [Mei].
I loved carrying my son.
I wish that I was given that lesson a lot earlier in life.
It was devastating for me not to be able to carry [Mei].
I loved carrying my son.
But postpartum was brutal.
The anxiety hit a month after Malcolm was born.
My eyes pop open at 4 a.m. Im gasping for air.
I get the tightness in my chest, and its like that all day long.
It felt like the end of the world….
I would have to sometimes hold Johns arm from room to room.
It was physical, almost as if I had sprained my knee.
I ask Munn how she recovered.
I told John and my therapist, and everyone talked about medication.
She thinks for a minute and pulls her hair over one shoulder.
And I could not make any breast milk.
I think [that] kicked off the anxiety, she says.
I sawIm telling youthree lactation coaches.
I did the vitamins, the water, the heating….
It would take me all day long to fill up just one bottle.
I remember my mom was visiting.
[I had left a bottle of] breast milk on the counter.
I go in and Im like, Wheres the breast milk I left?
And she goes, Where was it?
I said, It was right here.
She goes, Oh, I cleaned up everything and I threw it away.
I cried so hard.
I was so mad and upset.
She just said, Well, John threw the dog food away.
John was like, Wait, what?
What are you doing?
That just made me laugh, Munn says.
When you stop breastfeeding immediately, your hormones drop, and postpartum can come in like a tornado.
And I didnt clock any of that and I didnt tell anybody about that.
It was more difficult than going through cancer.
Before we go on, a brief recap of Munns personal medical history.
Its one that she feels not only okay to share but almost duty bound to tell people.
This is a part of my life now that I do see as a gift and a focus.
Malcolm was born in November 2021.
For the next year, Munn battled postpartum anxiety.
Then April 2023 happened.
She was diagnosed with bilateral, multi-focal, multi-quadrant, stage 1 Luminal B breast cancer.
Ten months, five surgeries, two babies.
Her final surgery was just weeks beforeYour Friends & Neighborsstarted filming.
Just tell me what to do.
Tell me what to do, and Im going to tighten my shoelaces.
When I was diagnosed, they were telling me, This is fast-moving.
We dont have time.
Weve got to go now….
I was thinking immediately, Okay, Ive got to fight and I’ve got to get through this.
Just tell me what to do.
Tell me what to do, and Im going to tighten my shoelaces.
Munn took on her treatment as though it was a full-time job.
What if it comes back?
What if in three years it comes back somewhere else?
Once it pops up somewhere else, itsstage 4, she says.
When youre in a situation where death is on the table and youre dealt this card….
I only thought about the people I loved.
For a minute, we dont say anything.
Of course, everything else feels inconsequential.
What else is there?
But then, from the kitchen:
Daddy, I have to go potty.
Okay, lets do it.
Hes potty-trained, says Munn, just ridiculously proud.
She pulls the neckline of her sweater outward and looks down at her chest.
Its not even that difficult to see.
I bend over or turn a different way, and you might see the rippling of the implant.
I dont feel insecure about it.
I look at it and think, Good, I was aggressive.
Now I view the scars on my body as battle wounds.
I fought to be here and theyre proof of that.
Munns aggressive approach also put her insurgical menopause.
Hot flashes, cold chills.
My lashes were thinning.
Many women in menopause take estrogen to ease those symptoms.
My cancer feeds on hormones, so they had to take away the hormones.
You know how they say the universe doesnt give you more than you’re able to handle?
I get the feeling that the universe thinks very highly of Olivia Munn.
Shes just very matter-of-fact about it all, like shes reporting the story of her own physiology.
Self-pity would be a nuisance.
Another thing to clean up.
Munn seems so committed to fighting that she doesnt have time to complain.
Hang on a second.
She jumps up and returns a minute later with a silent, bleary-eyed 20-pound smoosh ball.
Munn places her in my arms and there she stays.
Okay, so were doing this.
And then I understood why.
This baby is like an ad for babies.
No crying or fussing or squirming.
Do you think youll tell her that you had a surrogate?
Oh yeah, the surrogates still in our life, says Munn.
She was a better pregnant woman than I ever could have been.
I needed [her] to understand that I needed to go this route….
I needed her to understand this would be hard for me.
Munn and Mulaney found their surrogate through an agency.
They chose a woman in Massachusetts.
Shes an incredible mother, an incredible human being, an incredible friend, just wonderful, Munn says.
I needed [her] to understand that I needed to go this route.
It wasnt for superficial reasons or because I wanted to put my work first.
Im not saying that any of those reasons arent valid for those people.
She pauses for a beat and looks out at the ocean.
It makes me emotionalits your baby, and the baby is somewhere else in the world.
Baby Mei ignores us and focuses on my hand, trying to make sense of my fingers.
Munn and Mulaney were in the delivery room when Mei was born.
The first person John hugged was the husband, he gave him a big kiss on the cheek….
It was just wonderful.
All good, right?
New baby, full nest, technically cancer-free.
This seemed like a great time to be rounding in on the happy ending.
I really tested Johns patience, she says.
And thank God hes the most patient person and can really take a lot.
A side effect of her estrogen-zapping cancer medication was making her feel like a person she didnt recognize.
I explained that I dont like being this way.
I broke down crying, saying, I need help.
And he just said, Okay, were going to go to your oncologist.
Thats not whats going on here.
When she says things like we tried two more medications, its not an affectation.
You get the sense that it was all happening to both of them together.
The sun droops in the sky, reminding us were not quite out of winter.
Munn wants to go down to the beach.
Its cold, Ill grab you a jacket.
I put it ontissues in one pocket, a toy in the other.
Loewe puffer as a metaphor for her life.
We make our way outside and down 50?
steps to the semiprivate beach.
We walk to the far end, to a totally deserted lagoon covered in the silvery purple mussel shells.
I ask Munn if she feels like its her duty to tell her story, to protect other women.
Absolutely, she says.
Nobody could predict what was going to happen in my life.
No one could have protected me from it, either.
Munn and I both have kids to go back to.
We head up to her house.
First, head above water.
Second, get back to shore.
Third, find my loved ones.
We pause on a landing.
A few people turn to look at Munn but she doesnt notice.
Thats all I could think about.
We climb up the last flight of steps and stop on the sidewalk.
She grabs my arm and looks at me.
Im waiting for a piece of wisdom.
A life lesson from this tireless, thoughtful, indestructible woman.
And she starts laughing.
Oh my God, how happy are you that were up at the top of the stairs?
Photographer:James EmmermanWardrobe styling:Kat TypaldosHair:Bok-Hee MeixnerMakeup:Archangela ChelseaManicurist:Kim Truong
