Why I Froze My Eggs At 27 – Hollywood Actress Florence Pugh

Hollywood actress Florence Pugh has shared that a surprising medical diagnosis prompted her to freeze her eggs at the age of 27.

Now 28, the British star revealed on the SHE MD podcast, released Tuesday, that she has been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis—conditions that can impact fertility.

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Pugh, star of hits like “Oppenheimer,” “Dune: Part Two” and “Little Women,” said: “I had a bit of a worry last summer and I just wanted to go and get things checked out and then we ended up finding out information that I probably wouldn’t have known until I started having kids in another five years.”

The SHE MD podcast is hosted by influencer Mary Alice Haney and gynecological surgeon Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, who was the one to diagnose Pugh.

Pugh shared that she made the appointment after experiencing “a few weird dreams” that prompted her to get checked. She was surprised when Dr. Aliabadi asked if she had ever had an egg count, which led to her diagnosis of both PCOS and endometriosis.

“It was just so bizarre because my family are baby-making machines,” she said. “My mum had babies into her forties, my gran… she had so many kids as well. I just never assumed that I was going to be in any way different and that there was going to be an issue with it, or that I had to think about it before I needed to think about it.”

Pugh continued: “And then… I learned completely different information aged 27 that I need to get my eggs out and do it quickly, which was just a bit of a mind-boggling realization and one that I’m really, really lucky and glad that I found out when I did because I’ve been wanting kids since I was a child.”

Endometriosis is a common and often painful condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus. It affects an estimated 11% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States.

PCOS, on the other hand, can cause symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, increased facial and body hair, acne, ovarian growths, and infertility, according to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The chronic condition affects roughly 8% to 13% of women and girls of reproductive age worldwide, with the World Health Organization noting that up to 70% of those with PCOS may be undiagnosed.

Pugh expressed her hope that by sharing her experiences, she could help raise awareness about these conditions.

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“I feel so let down by the lack of conversation,” she said. “I feel so let down for all of the young women that are going to find this out far too late, and are going to find this out when they start to have children in their thirties, and they’ve had a really amazing 10 years of work.

“And I feel like this is such a simple conversation that we should be having when we start our periods, or when we start having sex. It really, really should not take this long for someone to find out about this diagnosis that they have no idea what it is.”

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