Andie MacDowell Details Piriformis Syndrome Diagnosis: ‘I Thought I Was Literally Falling Apart’

Andie MacDowell is opening up about being diagnosed with piriformis syndrome.

The Four Weddings and a Funeral actress, 66, shared on the Thursday, January 23, episode of The Drew Barrymore Show how she feared she needed a hip replacement after experiencing “shooting [pain] down my leg.”

MacDowell went on to share details about living with piriformis syndrome, which affects the piriformis muscle and can also compress the sciatic nerve, leading to pain in the buttocks and leg.

The Maid actress shared with host Drew Barrymore that she experienced pain while riding her Peloton bike “like a crazy person.”

“I ended up with bad knees and a bad hip and … I thought I was literally falling apart, like I was gonna have to get new pieces,” she said, via USA Today. “But the good news is my pieces are fine. My knees are good except for aging. They’ve aged. I’m working out really hard now doing PT. I’m not falling apart.”

MacDowell added, “Thank God my hips are fine. I have to work my tiny little bottom and my hips. I have to work the bottom and work my hip. I just do it every day. And it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s a miracle. It really is.”

The actress also opened up about finding her independence in her late 60s, and the advice she received from her daughter, actress Margaret Qualley, 30. (MacDowell also shares daughter Rainey, 35, and son Justin, 38, with ex-husband Paul Qualley.)

“Once my kids left, I felt this huge void in my life because they were so important to me,” MacDowell said. “Margaret was really telling me I was supposed to be having the time of my life, but I wasn’t.”

The Groundhog Day star has since moved from Hollywood to South Carolina and said she is “happier now than I have been in a long time.”

“I’m having the time of my life now,” said MacDowell. “It’s really good.”

In December, MacDowell’s daughter, Rainey, welcomed her first baby with partner Anthony Watson.

“12/10/24 at 2:21am ✨ one week in the world,” she captioned an Instagram post sharing a photo of her newborn.

In September, Rainey exclusively told Us Weekly how her sister, Margaret, threw her a surprise baby shower.

“[Margaret is] so excited,” Rainey gushed. “She was just in town a couple days ago for a premiere for The Substance, which is f–ing awesome, and she threw me a surprise baby shower. I knew it was happening, but I didn’t know any of the details, so she threw that for me and she gave this really heartfelt speech.”

Justin, who lives in Montana, also attended the gathering.

“He came in for [the shower and] they’re both really, really excited,” Rainey added. “He’s got a 2-year-old already, [but] they’re both really excited for me.”