Australian comic actor Magda Szubanski, star of ‘Babe’ and ‘Kath and Kim,’ reveals cancer diagnosis

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian comedian and actor Magda Szubanski, best known for roles in the television sitcom “Kath and Kim” and the movie “Babe,” announced on Thursday she had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer.

The 64-year-old Melbourne resident posted on social media that she had started treatment for stage four mantle cell lymphoma, which she described as a “rare and fast-moving blood cancer.”

“It’s serious, but I’ve started one of the best treatments available (the Nordic protocol), and I’m lucky to be getting absolutely world-class care here in Melbourne,” Szubanski posted.

“I won’t sugar-coat it: it’s rough. But I’m hopeful. I’m being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant, and I’ve never felt more held by the people around me,” she added.

Szubanski said that she had shaved her head before appearing in a video “in anticipation of it all falling out in a couple of weeks.” That was an apparent reference to undergoing chemotherapy.

Szubanski received international acclaim for her role as the farmer’s wife Esme Hoggett in the 1995 movie “Babe.” The movie that tells the story of a pig that wants the job of a sheepdog was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

Szubanski reprised the role in the 1998 sequel: “Babe: Pig in the City.”

She played sports-loving Sharon Strzelecki in Australian sitcom “Kath and Kim.” The series ran from 2002 to 2005 and inspired an American remake with the same name.

Szubanski voiced the role of Miss Viola in the animated films “Happy Feet” in 2006 and “Happy Feet Two” in 2011. Both were produced and directed by George Miller.

Szubanski was born in Liverpool, England, on April 12, 1961, and moved to Melbourne with her family in 1966.