The Serious Medical Condition Jamie-Lynn Sigler Lives With

Jamie-Lynn Sigler had no idea what "The Sopranos" was about when she went to her first audition. The then-16-year-old aspiring actor, who'd only starred in musicals, believed that the HBO producers were looking for an "Italian-looking girl" who could sing. "I figured because of the title maybe it was musical and I figured maybe I could pass for Italian, so I went in," she told Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa, hosts of the "Talking Sopranos" podcast in 2020.

Sigler learned quickly enough that "The Sopranos" was no musical but a show about a New Jersey mobster suffering from debilitating panic episodes. But even after snagging the role of Meadow Soprano, the on-screen daughter of James Gandolfini's character, Sigler still couldn't imagine what she had actually just signed up for. The seminal show went on to revolutionize the role of TV in the entertainment industry, helping pave the way for the peak TV period of the aughts, the AV Club noted. 

While Sigler went on to star in several other films and TV shows, she'll probably always be remembered for "The Sopranos," but she doesn't mind. "It's a double-edged sword sometimes in this business because you feel like you can't get away, but when you ever get to have an opportunity to be part of something so iconic, it's pretty awesome," she said on "Harry" in 2016. The success of "The Sopranos" wasn't the only thing to uproot her life in those days. For Sigler, that time also marked the diagnosis of a lifelong health condition.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 20 years old, she revealed to People. At the time, she was a few seasons into "The Sopranos" and at the height of her fame. But she continued to have a hard time with the MS diagnosis long after the show's conclusion in 2007. It wasn't until the 2016 interview with People that she felt comfortable openly discussing her condition. "I wasn't ready until now," Sigler said. "You'd think that after all these years, somebody would be settled with something like this, but it's still hard to accept."

Her autoimmune disorder, which affects the nervous system, first struck in 2000 while Sigler was shooting the film "Campfire Stories" in rural New Jersey, she told The Star-Ledger in early 2001. Her symptoms started as mild tingling in her feet that evolved into full-blown paralysis of her legs in a matter of hours, requiring a five-day hospital stay. Later, doctors diagnosed her with Lyme disease. "It was such a life-altering experience," she said. "I realized it could all be taken away in a moment. It's hard to explain, when you sit there and can't move anything."

But the numbness returned and started to affect her bladder control. "I thought I might have a bladder infection, since none of my symptoms by themselves seemed alarming enough for a doctor's visit," she told Brain & Life. When the symptoms became persistent enough, she sought help from neurologists who found the cause.

"The Sopranos" star initially tried to keep her condition secret on the advice of an industry professional. She went public with her diagnosis after more than a decade. "I was in denial. I wanted to live in a fantasy world where I could pretend I didn't have this disease," she told Brain & Life in 2017. Sigler's symptoms continue to affect the lower half of her body, making walking, running, and using stairs harder, she told People. Sigler feared the consequences of revealing her lifelong condition. "I saw myself losing work, losing friends," she said in a 2016 interview with Parade.

But welcoming her first child, Beau, in August 2013 changed her mindset. Sigler slowly opened up to loved ones before making the diagnosis public. "I felt like I had really come to grips with my acceptance of this disease ... It was part of my life; it wasn't all of me," she told CBS News.

Her acceptance came with a desire to become an advocate. In 2016, she partnered up with a pharmaceutical company that produces an MS drug so she could raise awareness for the disease, Parade detailed. In this journey, Sigler became close with other advocates like Selma Blair, who also lives with multiple sclerosis. "I'm so lucky to know you. We are unlucky in some of the things we share, BUT, like we said last night, MS may have hardened our bodies, but it's softened our hearts," Sigler captioned an Instagram photo of the two together.