Julianna Margulies, known for her roles in "ER" and "The Good Wife," has recently opened up about her experiences with menopause, offering insights into how she manages her health and well-being. From medically induced menopause at a young age to navigating natural menopause later in life, Margulies emphasizes the importance of open communication with healthcare providers and adopting a regimented lifestyle.
Early Menopause and the Impact of Lupron
At the age of 28, while starring in "ER," Julianna Margulies was diagnosed with fibroids that were "growing exponentially." After initially ignoring them due to a busy schedule, her gynecologist recommended surgical removal. As part of her treatment plan, Julianna was prescribed Lupron, a drug that suppresses estrogen production to prevent the fibroids from growing. Similar to Olivia Munn's experience during her breast cancer battle, this medication threw Julianna into early menopause.
The side effects were significant. "At 28, I would be on the set of ER and I would literally sweat all my makeup off," she said. "The night sweats were to the point where I would have to change my sheets, put towels down, change my pajamas. I could not believe what I was in store for." She also recalled feeling "embarrassed" to tell her co-stars what was happening.
Finding a Smoother Ride Through Lifestyle Changes
After surgery and stopping Lupron, Julianna's body began producing estrogen again. Remembering her difficult experience with early menopause, she consulted her doctor on how to better manage future menopause. "I started taking fish oils and working out regularly," she recalled. "I just became very regimented in how I lived, and it became a habit rather than a diet. That's, I think, why I had a bit of an easier time [later]."
When she entered menopause again at 54, she experienced hot flashes, but noted, "I never felt foggy in the brain, and my weight has stayed the same." This underscores the importance of individual experiences with menopause and the potential benefits of proactive lifestyle management.
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The Importance of Open Dialogue and Medical Advice
During a Women's Health Health Lab panel in New York City, Julianna emphasized the importance of open conversations about menopause. She highlighted the disparity in treatment options between men and women, stating, "Men, the second they got an erectile dysfunction, there was a pill three minutes later. Part of being married and part of being a woman is your sexual relationship with your partner-why shouldn't we have that same advantage?"
Dr. Stephanie McNally, MD, from Northwell Health's Katz Institute for Women's Health, echoed this sentiment, urging women to be open with their doctors about their menopause symptoms and to ask questions. "Be bold, be brave and be honest, because what you're feeling is very real," she added. "The impact comes by speaking up for what you know you need and what you know is right."
Julianna's Wellness Routine: Exercise and Diet
Beyond her advocacy for open conversations about menopause, Julianna Margulies also prioritizes her physical well-being through regular exercise. "I love working out," she told TODAY. "I know. I know people hate hearing that." For her, exercise is a way to release toxins and maintain mental clarity.
She prefers solitary workouts, saying, "I like being alone with no to one hear me. I run or bike or go on the elliptical. I breathe into my body. I do a mixture of yoga and pilates. I love to stretch. I get tremendous joy from working out. I know it sounds crazy." While motivation can sometimes be a challenge, she recognizes the positive impact of exercise on her overall well-being. "Some days it’s hard to get going. But it makes me feel better. It makes my mind feel calm and rested. The rest of my day is a piece of a cake if I’ve gone to the gym. Yesterday I took my dog for a two hour walk."
In addition to exercise, Margulies focuses on a healthy diet. In a typical week Margulies eats cooked and raw salmon about five times, as well as a diet full of antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, nonfat Greek yogurt, and green tea. But the real joy comes from how these foods make her feel, and the joy she gets from preparing them. “Cooking is very therapeutic,” she says, “and if you follow recipes, you’ll get it right and learn every time you cook.”
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A Culinary Passion: Crispy Garlic Salmon
Cooking has become a therapeutic outlet for Julianna Margulies, especially during the pandemic. She even took classes at the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts with her “foodie friends,” which resulted in plenty of dinner parties and recipe swapping. “Cooking came to me more naturally around the time I was 35, so by the time I had my son in my early 40s, I had mastered quite a bit in the kitchen.” Margulies says she doesn’t consider herself a great chef, but don’t tell that to her husband, lawyer Keith Lieberthal. “He thinks I am, and I would like to keep it that way,” she says with a laugh. “But I do love cooking and I love the result of it, which is a table full of happy people eating my food!”
She developed a set schedule: “Monday was stew night, Tuesday was stir-fry, Wednesday was roasted chicken, etc. And Sunday night became crispy garlic salmon,” she says of the set schedule.
Margulies even shared her recipe for Crispy Garlic Salmon.
Julianna Margulies’s Crispy Garlic Salmon With French Green Beans and Mama Rice## Ingredients:
- Raw salmon
- Salt and pepper
- Minced garlic
- Olive oil
- 1 onion
- Slivered almonds
- Rice
- Chicken broth
- French green beans
- Maldon salt flakes
Instructions:
- Take the salmon out of the fridge at least a half hour before you cook it. You want all fish, meat, and poultry to be at room temperature before you put heat to it; that way you get the full flavor.
- Rinse and pat dry the salmon, and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Then rub freshly minced garlic all over the flesh side of the fish. Put the remaining minced garlic in a heated pan with olive oil. Get the garlic cooked to just browning and then, skin side down, place the salmon on top of the garlic at very high heat. This sears the garlic to the skin and makes the skin crispy. Then turn the heat down a bit after about 2 minutes, since you don’t want it to burn.
- When the salmon cooks halfway through, flip it over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it sit in the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. You never want to overcook salmon, or it will get rubbery. You want it to be medium-rare. It will still cook even though the heat is off because the pan is still hot.
- For the rice, sauté one chopped onion in a little olive oil until translucent and put it in a bowl to the side. In the same pan, roast slivered almonds-about a handful. Just roast them in the pan on medium heat until they are a nice golden brown. Put them in the same bowl as the onions. I like to cook rice in chicken broth for more flavor, but water is fine too. Once the rice is cooked, it needs to sit for 10 minutes. Then throw the bowl of onions and almonds into the pot of rice and stir it up. Put the lid back on the rice and let it sit until the rest of your meal is ready.
- For the French green beans, just wash and dry them. Add a very little amount of olive oil in a pan, heat it up, and throw on the beans. I like to use a little Maldon salt flakes for seasoning. Only cook the beans until they are vibrant green-about 6 to 7 minutes-because you don’t want soggy beans; you want them crunchy.
Full Circle Moments and Career Reflections
The past year has brought many full-circle moments for Julianna Margulies. First, there was the reunion with Jennifer Aniston on season two of The Morning Show. (Margulies will play a successful evening news anchor at the UBA network.) The two actors saw their stars rise overnight when ER and Friends launched in September 1994, and “we worked next door to each other every day on the Warner Bros. lot,” Margulies says. “We kept going, ‘Wow! Who knew?!’ We were all unknowns and just shot out of the gate right away. And now we’re working together and have known each other for more than 25 years. Talk about full circle.” Then there was the virtual ER reunion in April to benefit the nonprofit organization Waterkeeper Alliance, where she reunited with her longtime friend and scene partner-in-crime, George Clooney. “It was so lovely to see everyone,” she tells Glamour of the cast. “Thanks to streaming, there’s a whole new audience for ER. What I thought was long gone, now I’m getting, ‘Aren’t you Nurse Hathaway?’ I’m like, ‘Wow. Wow. Yeah, I am! Thank you!’”
And now, with the release of Margulies’s memoir, Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life, she’s revisiting her adolescence and the smaller moments that shaped her life. “Dinner was always the one time in my crazy, chaotic childhood that we would sit down and talk about our day, so when I went through this huge breakup and suddenly was by myself, I got obsessed with baking,” she says.
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