Andie MacDowell, 66, Reveals She was In So Much Agony From Piriformis Syndrome She Feared She Was Going to Be Forced to Undergo Hip Replacement
Andie MacDowell was gripped with fear over her diagnosis.
Jan. 24 2025, Published 9:07 a.m. ET
Hollywood actress Andie MacDowell has been diagnosed with Piriformis syndrome.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Groundhog Day star, 66, feared she would need a new hip after the condition – which causes pain or numbness in the buttocks and down the back of the leg – left her in agony.
MacDowell has thanked a 'miracle treatment' for being to make a remarkable recovery.
But thanks to a "miracle" treatment, the movie veteran has been able to make a remarkable recovery.
MacDowell said: "It's a muscle that kind of clamps down on my sciatic nerve and it was shooting down my leg.
"I thought I was gonna have to have a hip replacement. Thank God my hips are fine."
For treatment, the actress works with a personal trainer to address the pain.
She explained: "I have to work my tiny little bottom and my hips. I have to work the bottom and work my hip. I just do it every day,” adding her condition "doesn’t hurt anymore."
MacDowell also beamed: "It’s a miracle, it really is."
The actress says she now has to 'work the bottom and work my hip' every day.
MacDowell – who has long been vocal about being comfortable with aging – also shared an update on her personal life, revealing she left Hollywood for South Carolina where she lives "in a community that has a lot of people my age" so she has an "easier" time making friends.
She said: "I like to eat, but I do love to work out. That is my great fortune because I have had friends that are frustrated because they don't enjoy it, but I really do enjoy it."
MacDowell added that her routine Peloton workouts left her with "bad knees and a bad hip" which originally made her think she was "literally falling apart like I was gonna have to get new pieces."
MacDowell has long been vocal about being comfortable with aging and proudly sports her natural gray hair.
She said: "But the good news is my pieces are fine. My knees are good except for like aging. They've aged. I’m working out really hard now doing PT I’m not falling apart. Well, thank God."
MacDowell, who was previously married to model Paul J. Qualley and entrepreneur Rhett Hartzog, also announced she is going to be a grandmother again as her son is having a child soon.
The actress has son Justin Qualley, 38, as well as daughters Rainey Qualley, 35, and actress Margaret Qualley, 30.
The Groundhog Day actress also revealed she is set to become a grandmother again as her son's partner is pregnant.
She said: "My son's about to have another one, so I'm gonna have three little girls. So I do have a life now. I created a life. I figured it out, you know, it took me a while."
As far as being an empty nester, she doesn't love it.
"Everything changes. It's a hard shift, I'm telling you. You hear about how a lot of mothers react when they, a lot of times people like they are happy, you know, they're free or whatever," the star admitted.
MacDowell says she wants to be described as 'debonair' as she ages – and believes older men are discussed in far more glowing terms for their looks as they mature.
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In May 2023, MacDowell spoke about why she "doesn’t feel less sexy" as she gets older, saying she feels women should be described by terms such as "debonair" as people approach conversations about aging.
She added: "I like all the terms we use for older men. I want to hold onto those terms. I want to be debonair. Why not? What a beautiful term."
The Golden Globe winner recently told how she feels society has "been brainwashed" into thinking men age better than women.
She said: "It's a psychological thing that we've bought into because we’ve been fed it for so long."
MacDowell added women "don't allow ourselves to feel good about ourselves and we even perceive (older men) as sexy, because we've been taught this."
