‘Proof of how hard I fought’: Why Olivia Munn chose to show her mastectomy scars in new Skims campaign

(CNN) — Olivia Munn is the latest star to model for shapewear brand Skims, and in the campaign images the actor shows her mastectomy scars as she continues her fight against breast cancer.

In the photographs, taken by artist Vanessa Beecroft, Munn models products by the Kim Kardashian-founded lingerie and shapewear brand, including a head-turning nipple illusion bra. Launched in the final week of Breast Cancer Awareness Month as a partnership with the Susan G. Komen organization, the campaign encourages women to pursue early screenings, according to a press release. Munn has advocated for people to calculate their breast cancer risk score, which helped lead to her diagnosis early last year.

“This cause is deeply personal to me, and I’m proud to help drive awareness and conversation around it,” Munn said in the release. “SKIMS’ commitment to empowerment and community aligns perfectly with the message of this campaign, which is all about confidence, comfort, and feeling your best self. That’s exactly how I felt shooting this.”

Last month, Munn shared a timeline of her breast cancer journey on social media, which has included multiple mammograms, ultrasounds and a genetic test in 2022 and early 2023. All of those screenings came back negative. But in March, her physician screened her using the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator and found Munn’s lifetime risk was 37.3%, more than triple the risk of the general population. This led her to pursue more testing including an MRI and biopsies. She was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in April 2024, and has since undergone a double mastectomy and reconstruction along with other treatments.

Munn also had surgery for a partial hysterectomy this past April, she noted, several months after undergoing egg retrieval. She and her husband, the comedian John Mulaney, welcomed their second child via a surrogate in September.

In a podcast episode with the Susan G. Komen organization, Munn spoke more on the importance of her campaign with Skims. “When people think of SKIMS, they think of beauty and sexiness, and with breast cancer, I think that it’s not always the first thing that people think about, maybe like not even in the top hundred.”

She revealed she had initially wanted to cover some of her scars for the project, but experienced a moment in between shots that changed her mind. “After my first shot with this one black bodysuit, we were changing and we were touching up my scars with my makeup artist. And then it just hit me after she touched up one scar that is placed in a way that I haven’t really learned to love yet,” she recalled.

“But I was looking at my mastectomy scars and I was thinking about the first time I saw them and how shocking it was for me. And I thought, you know what? I do look at these scars as proof of how hard I fought. And I think I want to not only embrace the scars right now but show other women who have these same scars that there’s nothing to feel bad about.”

Munn joins celebrities including Sabrina Carpenter, Megan Fox, Heidi Klum, Cardi B and Lana Del Ray, who have all modeled for Kardashian’s brand. Skims has a history of supporting social causes, and has previously made donations to families affected by COVID-19 as well as to Ukraine relief efforts. The brand also recently landed high-profile partnerships with the WNBA and NBA, and worked with Team USA at the summer Olympics in Paris.

Through the end of the month, Skims says it will donate a portion of its bra sales to Susan G. Komen in support of breast cancer research and awareness.

The-CNN-Wire
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