Emily in Paris Star Ashley Park Says Once She Recovered from Cancer 'I Didn't Want It to Define Me'

LEEOR WILD; Courtesy Shape

Ashley Park is opening up about how a diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia when she was 15 affected her approach to health and wellness.

Although the now 31-year-old recovered after spending nearly a year in the hospital undergoing rigorous chemotherapy, she says that being told what she could and could not do during those critical moments caused her to make it one of her most effective forms of motivation.

"Once cancer physically left my body, I made it my mission to not let it affect my life," she said in a cover story for SHAPE's first digital issue. "I didn't want it to define me. People were so worried about me, and I became the person that was like, 'I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I am going to go after what I want and just do it.'"

The Emily in Paris actress used the inspiration to push her to perform up to eight or nine shows a week on Broadway for shows like The King and I, Mamma Mia!, and Mean Girls early on in her career.

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LEEOR WILD; Courtesy Shape

She learned from the experience that she needed to take care of her health to push toward her dreams even harder.

"When you're performing so much, you realize that your body is your vessel — it's your instrument," she said. "So, you have to treat it as such and really take care of it."

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Stéphanie Branchu/Netflix

While she's done everything from yoga to running, pilates, and dancing, she focuses on moving "every day."

"That can be hard with my filming schedule, so I've learned that to stay motivated, I have to adjust what type of physical activity can fit into my life at any given moment," she explained.

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LEEOR WILD; Courtesy Shape

She follows the same approach to her nutrition, explaining that she focuses on having a balanced, primarily plant-forward diet, but is not afraid to make some exceptions.

"I am highly anemic because of what I went through with my cancer," she divulged to the publication. "So, I do like a nice steak every once in a while."