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.’”
This story is from the August 20, 2021 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 20, 2021 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
PARTING SHOT: Sarah Paulson
\"CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THE AIR WAS JUST FILLED WITH DUST PARTICLES and you literally could not breathe?\" That's what Sarah Paulson is tackling in her new film Hold Your Breath (October 3).
MUSIC: 'Our Country Is in Need of "We Are Family""
Putting family controversy behind her, Sister Sledge's Kathy talks moving on, new music and the 2024 election
ARCHAEOLOGY: The 'Last' Neanderthal
Analysis of the remains of one our closest extinct relatives has challenged existing knowledge of Homo neanderthalensis
AMERICA'S BEST NURSING HOMES 2025
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF AGING IS finding the right care from sources that you trust you want to know that you or your loved ones are in good hands during a new phase of life.
CLIMATE HERO OR VILLIAN?
AI COULD REVOLUTIONIZE CLEAN ENERGY, BUT ITS POWER DEMANDS ARE DRIVING UP EMISSIONS
MILITARY: Building Back Stronger
The base from where the U.S. launched its nuclear strikes to end World War II is being revived to counter the growing Asia-Pacific threat posed by China
OPINION: 'Cost of Living Forced Us To Live in Our RV'
Broke and desperate, the Garagusos gave up their dream home for a camper, but has life improved?
POLITICS: Will House Prices Decide the Election?
A new study has found that the cost of homes could sway voters when they cast their ballots
Jim Parsons
FRESH OFF HIS TONY NOMINATION FOR MOTHER PLAY, JIM PARSONS IS BACK on Broadway in Our Town. So, does he not like taking a break? \"Until [Big Bang Theory] wrapped in 2019, I did not really know what it was to take a break that was not only extended, but also uncertain.\"
'Frank's an Icon, and My Dad'
Moon Unit Zappa on navigating childhood as a rock star's daughter
