Actress and breast cancer survivor, Olivia Munn is done with being insecure about her mastectomy scars. In a powerful and deeply personal move, the former Daily Show correspondent decided to showcase her mastectomy scars in a SKIMS campaign, sparking an important conversation about body acceptance and breast cancer recovery.
After being diagnosed in April 2023 with luminal B breast cancer in both breasts, Munn underwent a double mastectomy at her doctor’s recommendation. In an interview with Vogue, the 44-year-old actress revealed that, in addition to the mastectomy, she also had a full hysterectomy and oophorectomy, removing her uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries.
In a recent interview with TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, Munn expressed pride in how the campaign photos turned out, though she admitted that going topless for the shoot wasn’t originally part of the plan.
“When SKIMS approached me to do this campaign, it was just to do their shapewear and their new leggings, and it wasn’t about my scar at all,” she told Guthrie.
Munn shared that while changing outfits during the shoot, she put on something that revealed more of her scars. When the makeup artist on set began covering them up, Munn explained that it was “just really hard” to conceal them.
“Then I was looking in the mirror, and I just thought, ‘I’m done being insecure about my scars,'” Munn said. “So I went to the team of SKIMS, and I said, ‘What do you guys think about showing my scars in this campaign?’ And they were so amazing and thoughtful and wonderful. And we talked it out, and we decided to do it.”
Reflecting on the recent photo shoot, the mother of two described the experience as “really scary” but added that she’s glad she went through with it.
“I feel like this is something I’ve been hiding for a long time now, and it just feels like I can breathe a little bit more,” she said. “Knowing there are so many women that have these same scars as me, I know that so many of them feel the same way I felt about them for so long. And I hope that they see the SKIMS campaign.”
Munn expressed her hope that survivors and those newly diagnosed will view the campaign as a symbol of hope and empowerment, helping them feel both strong and sexy.
“SKIMS is so iconic and associated with beauty and sex appeal, and cancer really doesn’t have that same connotation,” Munn said. “So, I just really hope that other women who have gone through my same path feel a little better after seeing it.”