Jean Smart has opened up for the first time about undergoing emergency triple bypass heart surgery in 2023, sharing a harrowing journey that began with symptoms she initially dismissed as mere fatigue.
The 74-year-old Emmy-winning star of Hacks revealed in a recent interview with Variety that during filming of the show's third season, she experienced unusual tiredness that she attributed to poor fitness rather than a serious health issue.
"After several takes, I was like, 'Did you get it? Was that enough?' I was feeling a little tired," Smart recalled. "But I didn't think anything of it."
Smart explained she had grown accustomed to feeling pressure when climbing stairs, assuming it was simply a sign she needed more exercise. The discomfort persisted for several days before she decided to contact her cardiologist, motivated by the memory of her husband Richard Gilliland, who died from a heart condition in 2021 at age 71.
"I thought, 'You haven't seen your cardiologist in a long time. Don't be stupid. Your kids just lost their dad!'" said Smart, who shares two sons with her late husband.
Her doctor immediately advised her to go to the emergency room, but Smart finished filming her scene before having her driver take her to the hospital. There, she coincidentally encountered Hacks co-creator Paul W. Downs, whose mother was undergoing ankle surgery. Downs became her sole support as doctors delivered the serious diagnosis.
"It was so stressful," Downs told Variety. "Her children had just lost their father, and I think she didn't want to scare them, so they weren't there. I was there with her as she was talking to surgeons and hearing them say, 'You can't get a stent. You have to get a triple bypass.'"
Smart consulted three heart surgeons before proceeding with the triple bypass. Surprisingly, she said the fear didn't fully hit until after the procedure was complete.
"I wasn't really scared until I woke up the next day, and I'm thinking about what they had to do," she remembered. "You start to feel so fragile."
In February 2023, Smart shared her experience on Instagram with an important message: "Please listen to your body and talk to your doctor. I'm very glad I did!"
The heart surgery wasn't Smart's only recent health challenge. Last summer, she broke her kneecap while trying to hail a cab in New York City, forcing a temporary pause in her Broadway show Call Me Izzy. She joked about the incident during an August 2025 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, recalling thinking as she lay on the ground, "Oh God, don't! Please don't take a picture, anybody please."