Lust for Life

Kris Carr's crazy sexy cancer survival story

by Jennifer May, December 21, 2007

Bathed in diffused light from the skylights of her Woodstock home, Kris Carr looks calm despite the fact the manuscript for her second book is due in two days. Carr weaves her long and slender fingers through her blonde hair, and it tumbles onto the shoulders of her white faux-lambskin fleece. She twists her blue-jean-sheathed legs around each other, her Ugg boots standing in as slippers, and she looks every bit the Hollywood starlet at home. That is, after all, the life the former actress was building for herself until five years ago when, at age 31, she was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of a dreaded disease. “Cancer isn’t something to say thank you for, but it can be a catalyst,” says Carr.

These days, Carr no longer acts on “Law & Order,” no longer stars on Bud Light commercials televised during the Super Bowl, no longer strips nude on stage when playwrights (such as Arthur Miller) ask her to. She is now the real-life hero of her own documentary, and as the star of her remade life she is endorsed by celebrities such as Sheryl Crow and Donna Karan. Instead of pimping products, Carr inspires thousands of people across the country to get healthy. She inspires people to change their lives.

The diagnosis came as a shock. After an over-enthusiastic Jivamukti yoga session—she hoped her fervent downward dogs would catch the attention of a cute guy—Carr woke the next day with severe muscle and abdominal pain. A series of examinations had the nurses frowning. Scans displayed foreign lumps on her liver and lungs.