The significant weight loss has improved her lymphedema symptoms, which she developed after her second cancer diagnosis.
Kathy Bates has given fans a glimpse into her health journey over the last decade, including undergoing cancer for the second time and experiencing a 100-lb. weight loss journey.
The Academy Award-winning actress is a two-time cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with stage 1 ovarian cancer in 2003 but didn't reveal her illness to the public. Bates underwent surgery and nine months of chemotherapy to treat the cancer. Less than a decade later, Bates was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. This time, she had a double mastectomy due to her family history of cancer and chose not to undergo reconstruction surgery afterward.
After Bates was cancer-free, she was faced with a new health challenge—lymphedema, a disease commonly caused by the removal of lymph nodes during cancer treatment. The actress told PEOPLE in August 2018, "It's a souvenir you definitely don't want. I really felt that life was over for me. I probably wouldn't work again, and I was angry for a long time."
After her second bout of cancer and her lymphedema diagnosis, Bates lost 60 lbs. by 2019 to help with the symptoms of the condition. Over the next several years, Bates would continue to experience weight loss, dropping a total of 100 lbs. during a six to seven-year period, telling Variety in September 2024, "I don't think I've been this slim since I was in college."
Bates has shared details about how she's achieved her weight loss, including her lifestyle changes. During an October 2024 interview with PEOPLE, Bates explained that she "used to eat terribly," with her diet including burgers, pizza and Coke.
Bates was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2017, which prompted her to make her lifestyle changes.
"[Diabetes] runs in my family, and I'd seen what my father had gone through," she told PEOPLE in 2024. "He had had a leg amputation. One of my sisters is dealing with it very seriously, and it terrified me. It scared me straight."
Bates has had cancer twice in her life. In 2003, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and less than a decade later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012. After she completed her treatment for her second bout of cancer, she developed lymphedema.
Speaking to PEOPLE in January 2019, Bates revealed that she "was terrified of getting it" and said that some doctors see patients' swollen limbs and assume it is due to their weight. However, despite her fear, she said that she was "feeling great" amid her treatment.
"I've lost a lot of weight and it's really helped with my symptoms," she explained. "I just still have to wear compression sleeves or guard against nicks and bug bites because that can lead to sepsis."
Years later, during an October 2024 interview with PEOPLE, she shared how weight loss continued to aid in her symptoms, adding: "It's been a tremendous benefit for me."
"I'm lucky that I don't have to wear my compression sleeves every day," she said. "It's such a thrill to be able to put my arm into a jacket and it fits."
Bates credits her weight loss for aiding in her work as an actress. In September 2024, Bates spoke to Variety about her excitement to be cast in the CBS series Matlock. Starring in a network drama takes a lot of effort, but Bates said that her weight loss has helped her keep up with the daunting schedule.
"It's helped me tremendously that, over the last six or seven years, I've lost 100 lbs.," she explained. "I don't think I've been this slim since I was in college."
She looked back at her experience starring on NBC's Harry's Law in 2011, sharing: "I had to sit down every moment that I could. It was hard for me to walk. I'm ashamed I let myself get so out of shape, but now I have a tremendous amount of energy."
Bates candidly described how she lost 100 lbs. over a several-year period during an interview with PEOPLE in 2024. At the time, she clarified that she initially lost 80 lbs. over the course of seven years due to changes she made to her diet and lifestyle, while the other 20 lbs. were due to Ozempic, an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes.
"There's been a lot of talk that I just was able to do this because of Ozempic," Bates explained. "But I have to impress upon people out there that this was hard work for me, especially during the pandemic. It's very hard to say you've had enough."
The following year, the actress slammed critics who credited her weight loss solely to the drug.
"People say, 'Well, it was the Ozempic.' F -- you, it was the Ozempic! It took me years to do this," she told Variety in September 2025. "I got this diagnosis about diabetes -- my father died of it; his mother died of it; one of my sisters is in peril. When they said 'diabetes,' I figured out what to do to slowly, over years,...
She added, "And then when Ozempic came along, I was able to lose the last 15 to 20 lbs. and keep it off," she added.
When Bates was preparing for the 2024 Emmy Awards in September 2024, she told PEOPLE that she "was able to go" to Giorgio Armani for the first time "in quite a while" to find a dress to wear to the awards show. As she tried on dresses at the fitting with her friend, she said they "were in tears because everything I came out in just looked exquisite."
Looking back at the moment and the photos from the evening, Bates said, "The pictures on the red carpet were so different from any pictures I'd ever had taken on a red carpet."
"I just felt so relaxed and ready," she continued. "I knew I felt great, and I looked great. We had a wonderful little skit with Antony [Starr] and Giancarlo [Esposito]. It was a lovely night. That evening was really special."
Bates spoke to PEOPLE in March 2025 about how her career has been affected by her lifestyle changes, explaining at the time that being "really healthy" made "working a lot easier."
The actress shared that her recent acting gigs have been a "magnificent experience." She explained, "When I was so heavy in Harry's Law, I had to sit down in between every take; it was awful. I'm ashamed to have put myself through that, to be honest."
"But now that I’ve been able to get really healthy, I can move; I can breathe; I can have fun; I’m not sore," she continued. “I get tired and realize I’m like an old lady; but even the kids get tired. But it’s been a magnificent experience.”
Bates shared her favorite workout amid her 100-lb. weight loss with PEOPLE in May 2025. Her exercise of choice is fairly simple, with the actress saying that she prefers walking. Bates explained: “I think it’s the best exercise. Well, it’s great for me, and I have a treadmill at home.”
“I’m supposed to do some weight training because they say that’s really good,” she added. “I’ve got one of those stretchy things. I don’t know what you call those. I have to figure out how to use that. I have to put it into the DVD and figure out exactly how to use it. Or the Blu-ray ... not the Blu-ray. I don’t know what you call it. I just stick it in a drawer and turn it on.”