Legendary actor Dustin Hoffman secretly fights cancer and wins, here’s his story!!!!!
Dustin Hoffman, no stranger to transformation, famously dressed in drag for Tootsie 30 years ago. However, in 2013, the Rain Man actor, then 75, cloaked himself in secrecy while battling throat cancer, a disease that nearly took his life. Hoffman revealed that the cancer was “surgically cured,” but he never discussed it again.
In 1967, a 30-year-old Hoffman had his breakthrough role in The Graduate, earning his first Oscar nomination. Over the following years, he appeared in iconic films such as All the President’s Men (1976) and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for the latter. He also starred in Tootsie (1983), where he portrayed a struggling actor who dresses as a woman to land a role on a soap opera.
The film brought Hoffman to tears when he realized he wasn’t seen as “beautiful” in drag. “If I were going to be a woman, I would want to be as beautiful as possible, and they said to me, ‘That’s as good as it gets,’” Hoffman recalled in an interview. This epiphany changed how he viewed and treated women. He shared, “I went home and started crying… If I met myself at a party, I would never talk to that character because she doesn’t fulfill the physical demands we’re brought up to think women need to meet.”
Though Tootsie was the second highest-grossing film of 1983, Hoffman didn’t see it as a comedy. He went on to win his second Oscar for Rain Man (1988) and has collected six Golden Globes and a Primetime Emmy over his illustrious career.
In 2013, after the release of his directorial debut Quartet (2012) and wrapping up production of Chef (2014), Hoffman’s publicist revealed the reason for his brief hiatus: he had been treated for cancer. The illness was detected early and surgically cured. While the exact type of cancer wasn’t confirmed, it is believed to have been throat cancer. Hoffman also underwent preventative treatments to reduce the chance of recurrence.
Now 86, Hoffman has continued his career, lending his voice to Master Shifu in the Kung Fu Panda franchise and co-starring in films like Sam and Kate (2022) and the upcoming Megalopolis (2024). In March 2024, Hoffman was spotted in London with his wife, Lisa Gottsegen, looking healthy and happy. Married for 43 years, the couple shares four children, adding to Hoffman’s family from his previous marriage.
Despite his private battle with cancer, Dustin Hoffman remains a testament to resilience, continuing to thrive both personally and professionally.
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