“I’ve always wanted my life to be as private as I can make it,” Bijou Phillips tells Us Weekly at her home in Beverly Hills. It makes sense: She was born famous and stayed that way.
Her father, John, founded the Mamas & the Papas; her sisters are One Day at a Time actress Mackenzie Phillips and Wilson Phillips singer Chynna. More recently, the Almost Famous actress has been in the news as a result of her ex-husband, Danny Masterson, 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’t given a sit-down interview in a decade and is breaking her silence now because she needs help — for herself and anyone else who is fighting for their life.
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 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.
“To put my health out there publicly was terrifying, but my friends and family got fed up with me. They took control and were like, ‘We’re doing this.’” Her support system includes her siblings, her boyfriend, businessman Jamie Mazur, and lifelong pals like Nicky and Paris Hilton, and Kimberly Stewart. They serve as her advocates when she can’t be, sending messages and presents and even talking with her doctors via group chat.
Inside Bijou Phillips’ Health Struggles as She Seeks 2nd Kidney Donor
In person, what shines through is her remarkable spirit, despite the fact that there’s 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 Us about facing her mortality, raising organ-donation awareness and trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for her 12-year-old daughter, Fianna.
It’s lovely to see you, and I’m sorry it’s under such sad circumstances. How are you feeling?
I feel pretty good since I started dialysis… I was possibly going to be able to get a kidney from my brother [Aron Wilson], but he wasn’t a match. He’s maybe going to be able to get into the kidney exchange, but they’re not sure. They’ve already denied him once, so he’s gonna try again.
How does that work?
If he gives his kidney, it would put me higher on the list. So then I would get the next kidney that’s a match for me. I have antibodies [that make kidney rejection more likely], so it makes it complicated.
How are you feeling emotionally?
Strong. I’ve been through a lot in my life, and I don’t know if I would change anything. I’m 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.
Have people reached out after your Instagram post on February 11?
So many people, it’s just beautiful.
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’ blood type is B negative, so O+, O negative and B negative can donate.] There’s 90,000 people in America that need a kidney. It’s something people don’t really understand or talk about. There are so many people that are suffering and on dialysis. Dialysis is not a cure, and it’s not something that is going to help you live a real life. You really do need to get a kidney transplant… I think it’s useful to raise awareness, [to encourage] more people to donate into the ether. It’s 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.
We’re seeing many stories about stars struggling with the cost of medical care. What has your experience been?
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’d cover it, and then they didn’t. SAG also refused to pay. [A rep for SAG-AFTRA Health Plan could not provide comment to Us, citing 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’s insane that you have to strategize insurance while fighting for your life… There are still medications I need that won’t get approved. They’re unbelievably expensive. I pay out of pocket because I don’t 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’t even imagine the pressure.
Have doctors given you a timeline for when you need a transplant?
I’ve needed a transplant for a year. I’m 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’re transplanted is very toxic to kidneys. So when you get a transplant — heart or liver or kidney — within a decade, you’re 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.
Because you saw your dad go through it.
I’ve been immunosuppressed for so long… 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’m really hopeful, [but] it’s an extremely urgent situation.
How has this experience changed your approach to life?
I have so much more compassion for myself and an ability to really take time to take care of my body and myself… I’ve found a deep need for spirituality that I didn’t have when I was younger. I’ve been praying a lot. I’m in a little group that prays the rosary in the morning, right after drop-off. I’m going to try to do a traditional Lent, fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays. [Despite widespread reports that Phillips left the Church of Scientology, her rep tells Us she was never a member, and her only connection to the Church was being married to Masterson, a lifelong Scientologist.]
Are you afraid of death?
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, “You know what? I’m proud of myself. I’ve checked all the boxes I wanted to check. I feel confident leaving.” I was married and able to let go and be at peace with it. It’s sort of the death of the ego, because there’s 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’re an artist… Now I’m 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’m it. I’m all she’s got.
How is Fianna dealing with things?
She’s the strongest little human. She’s brilliant. She’s a great piano player and songwriter, and she does phenomenal in school. And she’s very cool, way cooler than me. She’s really wise, and I’m 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’t deserve such an amazing human in my life. It’s magical.
She was 3 when you had your transplant. Has she always understood it?
She would play with her dolls and be like, “This doll is going to dialysis.” In some ways, this is normal for her.
What does your typical day look like right now?
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’s my day. If I don’t have dialysis, I’m running errands and going to the grocery store.
Bijou Phillips’ Rare Photos With Daughter Fianna Francis Through the Years
Are you still able to create things or work at all?
Before I got the call that my… kidneys were failing again, I was playing shows and putting music out. I was working on a new album… I was about to go make a movie in Bulgaria… I was so excited — it was such a good part — but I had to pull out because I got sick.
How do you cope with the uncertainty of finding a donor?
I’m just giving it to God. I’ve been tested my whole life. There have been so many things that have brought me sadness and shame and fear and worry. I had to grow so much. I’ve had to really look at myself [and be] thankful for what I’ve had. We’re so lucky to be here on this planet, in these bodies, getting to live this life. There’s so much love, there’s so much beauty. It’s unbelievable. When you live in a body that you can’t always trust… it makes the things that are beautiful so much more beautiful. It’s kind of like the cheat code. You go through all of these hard things, but God, it makes the sunsets prettier, and it makes taking a breath like a glass of champagne. Everything is better because you have so much gratitude. I find that the people who really haven’t suffered, haven’t gone through too much, they have the hardest time. The littlest things can send them into a spiral. The people that have really gone through it, you can’t help but just be overwhelmed by the beauty of life.
