Jamie-Lynn Sigler Kept Her MS Diagnosis a Secret for 25 Years Fearing She’d ‘Never Work Again’

Jamie-Lynn Sigler got emotional during a recent interview with ABC (via Entertainment Weekly) in which she discussed her recent guest spot on “Grey’s Anatomy” as a doctor with multiple sclerosis. She said the role was extremely personal, given that she was diagnosed with the condition 25 years ago and felt she needed to “keep it a secret” out of fear of losing work.

She told ABC, “To think back 25 years ago — when I was diagnosed and having to keep it a secret, thinking that if anybody knew that I had MS, that meant that I would never work again — and to now be in a position where my having MS inspired a role in a storyline on a show like ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ I never would have believed you.”

Sigler, who was working on the legendary HBO drama “The Sopranos” at the time, was 20 years old when she was diagnosed with MS. She didn’t go public with the news until 2017, when she sat down with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

On Jan. 15, Sigler appeared on “Grey’s Anatomy” as Dr. Laura Kaplan, a urologist with MS. In her episode, she gives Dr. Richard Webber, played by James Pickens Jr., advice on how to best treat his prostate cancer.

Sigler said her goal with the part was to “show someone in their power” and give an authentic depiction of someone living and thriving with MS.

“My very first take, where I do say the words that ‘I have MS,’ was very emotional for me,” she said.