
THERE ISN’T THAT MUCH distance between funny and sad. As Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong says, “When people talk about comedy, you talk about tension. It’s one in the same.”
Take for example, Strong’s own life during 2020. First there was shooting SNL during the pandemic. Then it was figuring out how to safely film her new Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! At the same time, amid waves of anxiety and depression, Strong was grappling with having to put a new relationship on hold over a COVID-19 diagnosis and the death of her beloved 30-year-old cousin, Owen Strong, from brain cancer.
“My cousin just passed away and the guy I finally started dating gets COVID. I had this busted thermometer, and I’m like, ‘Am I gonna die? Is he gonna die?’ That’s over two weeks!”
Strong writes about it all in her new memoir This Will All Be Over Soon, set for release August 10 by Simon & Schuster. “It was such a weirdly personal thing to write this, and I didn’t quite know what it would ever turn out to be. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to write about Owen in the first place. How can I find the right words to explain something that’s so devastating and so full of love?”
Strong says she and her cousin had been close as kids but had since lost touch. “When I came to New York for SNL, Owen met me the night of my audition. I was like, ‘Who are you even? I don’t even know you as an adult.’”
Denne historien er fra August 20, 2021-utgaven av Newsweek.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 20, 2021-utgaven av Newsweek.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på

Margo Martindale
Jamie Lee [Curtis, producer] called me and she says, \"Jamie Lee Curtis here. I have a project for you. And you're gonna do it.\"

Malala Yousafzai
\"AFGHANISTAN IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE world where girls are banned from access to education and women are limited from work.\"

In the Eyes of the Law
Jude Law is unrecognizable as an FBI agent on the trail of aneo-Naziterrorist group in real-crime drama The Order

Gonzo Intelligence
Instead of keeping a low profile, Moscow's spies are embracing the limelight and even being welcomed home by Vladimir Putin after their cover is blown

House of Cards
Donald Trump faces negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. in his second term—could his legacy of normalizing ties between Israel and Arab nations be a help or hindrance?

AMERICA'S Most Responsible Companies 2025
IN THE FACE OF ISSUES LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE and wage inequality, consumers care about the impact of the businesses they interact with and companies are responding.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
THE WORKPLACE IS BECOMING A BATTLEGROUND OVER POLARIZED OPINIONS. BUSINESS LEADERS NEED TO GET BETTER AT MANAGING DISPUTES

John David Washington
FOR JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON, BRINGING NETFLIX'S THE PIANO LESSON (November 22) from stage to screen was a family affair.

A Walk in the Parks
Jim O'Heir shares his memories of the hit NBC mockumentary and its cast's hopes of a reunion

Philomena Cunk
PHILOMENA CUNK IS JUST AS SURPRISED AS anyone else at her own popularity.