Jamie-Lynn Sigler has reflected on the “extremely emotional” moment she had to recite the line “I have MS” while filming her guest role on Grey’s Anatomy.
Sigler, 44, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2016, appears in the new episode of the long-running medical drama, titled “Heavy on Me,” as urologist Dr. Laura Kaplan, who is also navigating life with Multiple Sclerosis.
“It was extremely emotional for me to say the words on camera, ‘I have MS,’” the actor told The Independent in an interview ahead of the episode’s Thursday air date.
“Especially because I thought that my having MS meant that my acting career would be over,” she explained.
“I thought it meant that it would take away all of my dreams,” Sigler admitted. “I didn’t think it would make one come true.”
She recalled that before filming, she spoke to the showrunner about wanting to portray someone with MS, an incurable, chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system and can cause symptoms like fatigue, numbness, vision impairment, mobility issues and memory difficulties, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“My only note was I wanted to show someone in their power, I wanted to show somebody that was living with this and honoring what it was like truthfully and authentically,” Sigler said, “but also somebody that was, you know, made the pivots and adjustments that they needed to, but was still living life to its fullest.”
In the episode, Sigler’s character is brought in by Dr. Catherine Avery (Debbie Allen) to give her husband, fan-favorite Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), an alternative perspective on treating his recently discovered prostate cancer.
In an Instagram post shared hours before her Grey’s Anatomy debut, Sigler called the experience “a dream realized for myself and for so many others like me.”
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“I represent MS any time I’m on screen, but to play a Dr who speaks about her journey with honesty and hope, is the road I try to walk myself each and every day,” she wrote. “Having a disability of any kind doesn’t mean you are weak or incapable. It just means you may have to find a new way… and that new way usually opens doors to some pretty beautiful things.”
Sigler is best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on HBO’s mafia series The Sopranos, which aired for six seasons from 1999 to 2007. She has also made notable appearances in Ugly Betty, How I Met Your Mother and Baby Daddy. Even after her 2016 diagnosis with MS, she has continued to have a fruitful career, more recently starring in ABC’s drama thriller series The Big Sky.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and is available to stream the next day on Hulu.
