Edie Falco

Falco was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 while filming the third season of HBO’s Mafia drama 'The Sopranos'.

Falco, however, decided to keep her diagnosis private, speaking about it for the first time five years later, in an interview with Health.

The 60-year-old actress - who played mobster Tony's wife Carmella - said: “It was very important for me to keep my diagnosis under the radar, even from the cast and crew of ‘The Sopranos’, because well-meaning people would have driven me crazy asking,' How are you feeling?’ I would have wanted to say, 'I'm scared, I don't feel so good, and my hair is falling out.'"

Falco - who never missed filming on the show - was given the all-clear in 2004. She added: “Obviously, it wasn't meant for me to die of cancer at 40. Every day my life surprises me, just like my cancer diagnosis surprised me. But you roll with it. That's our job as humans."