{"id":22120,"date":"2026-02-28T12:44:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T12:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=22120"},"modified":"2026-02-28T12:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T12:44:20","slug":"bijou-phillips-is-fighting-for-her-life-for-her-daughter-amid-medical-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=22120","title":{"rendered":"Bijou Phillips Is Fighting for Her Life for Her Daughter Amid Medical Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted my life to be as private as I can make it,\u201d Bijou Phillips<\/strong><\/a> tells\u00a0Us Weekly<\/i>\u00a0at her home in Beverly Hills.\u00a0It makes sense: She was born famous and stayed that way.<\/p>\n

Her father, John<\/strong>, founded the Mamas & the Papas; her sisters are\u00a0One Day at a Time<\/i>\u00a0actress Mackenzie Phillips<\/strong> and Wilson Phillips singer Chynna<\/strong>. More recently, the\u00a0Almost Famous\u00a0<\/i>actress has been in the news as a result of her ex-husband, Danny Masterson<\/strong><\/a>, who in 2023 was found guilty of rape and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. (Phillips filed for divorce that year.) She hasn\u2019t given a sit-down interview in a decade and is breaking her silence now because she needs help \u2014 for herself and anyone else who is fighting for their life.<\/p>\n

Phillips, 45, was born with underdeveloped kidneys; she spent her first three months on dialysis and recovered, but with limited kidney function. She needed a transplant at 36 (her friend Chris Wadhams<\/strong> was the donor), but on February 11, she revealed on social media that she was hospitalized and on dialysis again. Finding a new donor was a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo put my health out there publicly was terrifying, but my friends and family got fed up with me. They took control and were like, \u2018We\u2019re doing this.\u2019\u201d Her support system includes her siblings, her boyfriend, businessman Jamie Mazur<\/strong><\/a>, and lifelong pals like Nicky<\/strong> and Paris Hilton<\/strong>, and Kimberly Stewart<\/strong>. They serve as her advocates when she can\u2019t be, sending messages and presents and even talking with her doctors via group chat.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Inside Bijou Phillips’ Health Struggles as She Seeks 2nd Kidney Donor<\/span><\/a>
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Even before Bijou Phillips revealed she needed a second kidney transplant, the actress had been open about her health struggles over the years. Phillips, who is the daughter of musicians John Phillips and Genevi\u00e8ve Wa\u00efte, was born with underdeveloped kidneys. She required her first transplant in 2017. \u201cI\u2019m asking as a friend, a sister, an [\u2026] <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In person, what shines through is her remarkable spirit, despite the fact that there\u2019s currently a catheter in her chest that makes it impossible to shower, and dialysis can skyrocket her heart rate to 190. She is upbeat and calm, wearing a wide smile throughout our interview. There is a sense of peace as she talks to\u00a0Us<\/i>\u00a0about facing her mortality, raising organ-donation awareness and trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for her 12-year-old daughter, Fianna.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s lovely to see you, and I\u2019m sorry it\u2019s under such sad circumstances. How are you feeling?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u00a0feel pretty good since I started dialysis\u2026 I was possibly going to be able to get a kidney from my brother [Aron Wilson<\/strong>], but he wasn\u2019t a match. He\u2019s maybe going to be able to get into the kidney exchange, but they\u2019re not sure. They\u2019ve already denied him once, so he\u2019s gonna try again.<\/p>\n

How does that work?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If he gives his kidney, it would put me higher on the list. So then I would get the next kidney that\u2019s a match for me. I have antibodies [that make kidney rejection more likely], so it makes it complicated.<\/p>\n

How are you feeling emotionally?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strong. I\u2019ve been through a lot in my life, and I don\u2019t know if I would change anything. I\u2019m a pretty happy-go-lucky person, and I usually look at the bright side of things. It takes a lot to make me lose my way or feel sad.<\/p>\n

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Have people reached out after your Instagram post on February 11?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So many people, it\u2019s just beautiful.<\/p>\n

Like, 1,300 people came forward and said they want to get tested. Out of those, I think we have like 50 or 60 that could possibly be a match [Phillips\u2019 blood type is B negative, so O+, O negative and B negative can donate.] There\u2019s 90,000 people in America that need a kidney. It\u2019s something people don\u2019t really understand or talk about. There are so many people that are suffering and on dialysis. Dialysis is not a cure, and it\u2019s not something that is going to help you live a real life. You really do need to get a kidney transplant\u2026 I think it\u2019s useful to raise awareness, [to encourage] more people to donate into the ether. It\u2019s such a wild disease. Your kidneys balance your electrolytes; they make a hormone that tells your white blood cells or your bone marrow to make red blood cells. It really affects you in so many different ways.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re seeing many stories about stars struggling with the cost of medical care. What has your experience been?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

On my first transplant, SAG denied coverage. We had to fight for months to get approval. Then, once I was on dialysis, I qualified for Medicare. They initially said they\u2019d cover it, and then they didn\u2019t. SAG also refused to pay.\u00a0[A rep for SAG-AFTRA Health Plan could not provide comment to\u00a0Us<\/em>,\u00a0citing HIPAA regulations.] I was left with a massive bill while trying to survive. This time around, because of that experience, I carry multiple insurance policies and Medicare. It\u2019s insane that you have to strategize insurance while fighting for your life\u2026 There are still medications I need that won\u2019t get approved. They\u2019re unbelievably expensive. I pay out of pocket because I don\u2019t have a choice. The system is incredibly complicated, opaque and stacked in ways that make it hard even for people with resources. For families without them, I can\u2019t even imagine the pressure.<\/p>\n

Have doctors given you a timeline for when you need a transplant?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve needed a transplant for a year. I\u2019m sort of hanging on by a thread. My dad had a liver transplant when I was 10, and then when I was 20, he had to get on dialysis at UCLA. The medication you take when you\u2019re transplanted is very toxic to kidneys. So when you get a transplant \u2014 heart or liver or kidney \u2014 within a decade, you\u2019re probably going to need a kidney transplant. My dad needed to get on dialysis after his liver transplant, [and] he got an infection in his line and was dead within three days because his immune system was so weak. So for me, getting on dialysis at UCLA was terrifying.<\/p>\n

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\"BIJOU<\/div>
John Chapple \/ instagram: @JohnChapple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because you saw your dad go through it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been immunosuppressed for so long\u2026 I could make it on dialysis for a couple years, or I could get an infection in my line tomorrow and be gone in a few days. I\u2019m really hopeful, [but] it\u2019s an extremely urgent situation.<\/p>\n

How has this experience changed your approach to life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u00a0have so much more compassion for myself and an ability to really take time to take care of my body and myself\u2026 I\u2019ve found a deep need for spirituality that I didn\u2019t have when I was younger. I\u2019ve been praying a lot. I\u2019m in a little group that prays the rosary in the morning, right after drop-off. I\u2019m going to try to do a traditional Lent, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays.\u00a0[Despite widespread reports that Phillips left the Church of Scientology, her rep tells\u00a0<\/i>Us\u00a0she was never a member, and her only connection to the Church was being married to Masterson, a lifelong Scientologist.]<\/i><\/p>\n

Are you afraid of death?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before the first transplant, I went through a dark night of the soul. You get to this point where you have to be OK with your life and think, \u201cYou know what? I\u2019m proud of myself. I\u2019ve checked all the boxes I wanted to check. I feel confident leaving.\u201d I was married and able to let go and be at peace with it. It\u2019s sort of the death of the ego, because there\u2019s this part of you that wants to keep going and make another movie and make another album and fight, fight, fight. You have that fire inside of you when you\u2019re an artist\u2026 Now I\u2019m a single mom and things are different. I want to be here for her, and I have to be here for her. The fight is back. That had been gone for a long time. I\u2019m it. I\u2019m all she\u2019s got.<\/p>\n

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\"BIJOU<\/div>
JOHN CHAPPLE\/MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How is Fianna dealing with things?<\/strong><\/p>\n

She\u2019s the strongest little human. She\u2019s brilliant. She\u2019s a great piano player and songwriter, and she does phenomenal in school. And she\u2019s very cool, way cooler than me. She\u2019s really wise, and I\u2019m just so proud to be her mother. She takes things that are really hard in life and handles them in this really classy way. I don\u2019t deserve such an amazing human in my life. It\u2019s magical.<\/p>\n

She was 3 when you had your transplant. Has she always understood it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

She would play with her dolls and be like, \u201cThis doll is going to dialysis.\u201d In some ways, this is normal for her.<\/p>\n

What does your typical day look like right now?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today I took my daughter to school, came home, had a little snack, went to dialysis, came home, and normally I would go do a couple things, grab her from school, take her if she has an after-school thing, or maybe go get an early dinner or come home and make dinner. That\u2019s my day. If I don\u2019t have dialysis, I\u2019m running errands and going to the grocery store.<\/p>\n

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\"Bijou<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Bijou Phillips\u2019 Rare Photos With Daughter Fianna Francis Through the Years<\/span><\/a>
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Bijou Phillips has kept a close bond with her daughter, Fianna, following her split from ex-husband Danny Masterson. Phillips tied the knot with Masterson in 2011 after seven years together. The pair welcomed their only child, Fianna Francis, in February 2014. After Masterson was found guilty on two counts of forcible rape for incidents that [\u2026] <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Are you still able to create things or work at all?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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