But nothing can take the shine off Farrah Fawcett's attude.
With her trademark blonde waves flicking out from beneath a woolly hat, she told reporters she is "doing well" after being diagnosed with intestinal cancer last year.
Doctors discovered a tumour while doing a routine check-up. Since then, the Charlie's Angels star has had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and a course of holistic treatments from a German clinic.
Now, in a rare interview held outside the St John Medical Centre in California this week, Miss Fawcett, 60, said: "I'm doing well but you can never say for sure. Everybody is praying for me and that I have to get well."
The blisters visible around her mouth are thought to be coldsores. Cancer treatments weaken the immune system, making patients vulnerable to such sores.
An onlooker said: "She still looked frail as she made her way out of the clinic. But it seemed as though the old Farrah was coming back. She was smiling and speaking quite openly about her health."
When news broke of Miss Fawcett's ill-health, her former lover Ryan O'Neal rushed to her side. But when asked this week if he was still supporting her, she replied: "Yes, but we're all kind of getting on with our own lives which I think is the best for everyone."
Miss Fawcett was a regular cast member on Charlie's Angels from 1976-77, and had a career revival in the 90s on Ally McBeal.
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