Jane Seymour Shares 'Wake-Up Call' About Heart Health: 'Choose Life' (Exclusive)
- - Jane Seymour Shares 'Wake-Up Call' About Heart Health: 'Choose Life' (Exclusive)
Cara Lynn ShultzNovember 10, 2025 at 3:00 AM
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Michael Higgins
Jane Seymour is an American Heart Association ambassador. -
Jane Seymour, 74, is sharing a "wake-up call" about heart health in her role as American Heart Association ambassador
The Harry Wild star says she's inspired by her mother, who had heart disease and survived an internment camp during World War II
"Choose life in the fullest form — in health, in happiness, in being heart healthy, in making good choices," she tells PEOPLE exclusively
Jane Seymour is taking a personal mission public, teaming up with the American Heart Association as its newest ambassador to spread awareness about heart disease and stroke risks.
“My mother had heart disease. My father died of heart disease,” Seymour, 74, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “My sisters and I, we all need to watch our cholesterol and we take statins.”
When it comes to heart disease, “more women die from it than men. It's the number one cause of death for women, more than all the cancers put together,” the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman alum pointed out. “One in 5 women in the U.S. will have a stroke in their lifetime … I think it's a wake-up call.”
Michael Higgins
Jane Seymour paints the "Open Hearts" symbol from her foundation.
Seymour emphasized the importance of self-care, explaining, “My body is like a car. It's my vehicle for as long as I'm able to live.” She said she’s “absolutely maniacal” about making sure she minimizes stress and gets enough sleep: “Stress is a big component [in health], so I do everything I can to not stress or to handle stress. I sleep eight hours a night … when I'm filming and I'm starting at 4 in the morning, I will set the alarm during the day and I tell myself whether I actually sleep or not, I will lie down and attempt to sleep and meditate to sleep.”
She also urged everyone to “go to your doctor. Find out what your blood pressure is, what the situation is, if you have clogged arteries, cholesterol issues. If there's a medication that's going to help you, make sure you stay on the medication.”
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The Harry Wild star explained that she’s driven by the lessons from her mother, Mieke Frankenberg, who also inspired her Open Hearts philanthropic foundation. “My mother had it right. She said, if you have purpose, you will live a longer, happier life. My mother survived a concentration camp for three and a half years in World War II, and she was a Japanese prisoner of war in Indonesia."
Seymour continued: “She said, in life, everyone has challenges. If you can accept it, which is the hardest thing to do in life, open your heart and reach out to help someone else, you will find purpose and purpose is key," she shared. "Purpose is the key to longevity and happiness.”
Michael Higgins
Jane Seymour promotes heathy living in her new role with the American Heart Association.
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But you can’t find purpose without health, Seymour points out, sharing that when it comes to people who see her American Heart Association campaign, “I hope they choose life. I hope they choose life in the fullest form — in health, in happiness, in being heart-healthy, in making good choices with their food, with their diet, or sleep patterns. Listening to what the doctors advise and monitoring their heart health and realizing that life is really worth living."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
