Cynthia Nixon

The 'Sex and the City' star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 but waited two years to make the news public as she feared it would be detrimental for her career, particularly as she was appearing on stage at the time.

She said: "I didn't want people coming to the play at night and that's what they were thinking about rather than the character I was playing. And also I didn't want there to be photographers at the hospital when I'd go in every day for the radiation."