Ashley Park reveals how she made it on Emily in Paris amid cancer diagnosis

Emily in Paris star Ashley Park has recently revealed she made it on the hit show after battling leukemia and sepsis.

Speaking on My First Time podcast, Ashley, who played the role of Mindy Chen on Netflix show, opened up about being diagnosed with blood cancer as a teenager.

“It’s so crazy to be the woman I am now, it’s very full circle. It was right before Christmas that I was diagnosed,” recalled the 33-year-old.

Ashley mentioned, “I danced and I did a lot of extra-curriculars and was late to all my classes because I couldn’t climb the stairs in time. I had bruises everywhere and I had lost so much weight.”

“But everyone is changing when you are 15. I was like, ‘Great, my growth spurt, I’m losing all my baby fat’,” dished the actress.

However, Ashley visited the school pediatrician where she had a blood test and they told her to go to the ER immediately.

She then stayed at the hospital for eight months as she underwent treatment, and eventually losing her hair during the process.

Ashley disclosed that she got the opportunity to pursue a career in musical theatre in New York amid her cancer treatment.

The actress remembered, “Once I left hospital I decided, ‘I don’t want this to define me, and one day I will have long hair again and people will have no idea’.”

But it is something that has defined me, despite me not wanting it to. I had the adult form of leukemia, which is more intense and spreads faster,” she stated.

Ashley said she “sees it as a blessing because, instead of a three-year treatment protocol, it was really vigorous”.

Meanwhile, the actress also credited her boyfriend Paul Forman for saving her life.

“I feel lucky, actually. It’s been kind of a miracle how I have recovered. I don’t think I would have made it without him. Everybody else was on the other side of the world,” she added.