Ashley Park on Cancer, Resilience, and Reclaiming Her Time

If anyone can play a character who refuses to stay down, it's Ashley Park. For five seasons, her Emily in Paris alter ego, Mindy Chen, has survived family pressure, career implosions, and heartbreak — only to bounce back each time with her signature mix of honesty, humor, and zero tolerance for self-pity. And while the Netflix series is set to end after season six, Park herself is nowhere close to done. And that resilience is channeled from her own life. 

The actress was 15 when she received a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive type of blood cancer. She spent long stretches in the hospital, which meant she missed major high school milestones. But one of the hardest things, she says, was the way other people reacted.

"I was the source of such sadness for everybody I cared about in my life," she says now, "and that was probably one of the toughest things about that time."

But she got through it. And one moment made that impossible to deny: the day a member of her oncology team showed up to watch her perform in a high school show. The sight of him in the audience was one of the first times she realized a whole life existed after cancer.

"That was just such a fulfilling moment for both of us," she says.

That memory is part of the reason Park recently partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb on its Time Back campaign, which invites cancer survivors and their loved ones to share messages of gratitude with the oncologists who cared for them. Here, she talks about advocacy, Emily, and how she gets  time back in her own life.

On what oncologists actually carry

"An oncologist may deliver bad news over 20,000 times in their career. I can't even stand delivering one piece of bad news to somebody. I think that the compassion of oncologists really can affect the experience with cancer, not only for the patient, but for their loved ones and caretakers too."

On what people get wrong when supporting someone who's sick

"Every single person, every situation is so unique. Being adaptable to somebody is everything. For me, what helped most was when people didn't just sit in the devastation of it. I remember one oncologist who had a different tie every day because he knew I liked that. Being able to share laughter was a big thing. Because you're sitting with months, if not years, of feeling like you're the source of everyone's strife."

On refusing to let cancer define her

"I felt like I wasn't ‘winning the cancer battle’ if I let it affect the person I was. As soon as I feel underestimated, I dig in. I really tried to move forward with just gratitude and trying to make the best of everything and live in the present. And I think that it's really defined how I've lived my life rather than sitting in the devastation of missing out on part of my youth.”

On what it actually looks like to get her time back

"It's my entire life. I can't even describe just one moment. It's every single thing. I think I have that sense of gratitude for every moment and every person who's helped. Everything I am today is because an oncologist helped me."

On how Mindy has (and hasn't) changed her

"It's been about seven years. [Before I got the role], I had never spent real time in Europe, I didn't have access to the fashion world. But more than that, Mindy and the world of Emily in Paris have opened up relationships around the globe for me.

I love that Mindy is honest but never judgmental. And she’s very clear on certain boundaries. That's something I've really tried to carry into my own life.” 

On friendship

"As adults, the friendships that really sustain us are the ones where you don't need anything from each other, but it's exactly what you need. A ride-or-die isn't just someone who drops everything. It's someone who's their own person, fully sustained on their own, but you know they'd pick up the call. And you know you can go to them for advice because you respect how they see the world, and you know they have your best intentions at heart."

On her wellness routine

"Drinking water and sleep are truly the best things for you. I've also realized how much I recharge with alone time — I never gave myself that before. There are only 365 days in a year, only 24 hours in a day. I need to be recharged to give 100% to the people I'm with."

Rapid-fire

A few fast questions. No overthinking required.

Favorite convenience store snack: "Sour Haribo. The ones you can peel into strips, ideally a little stale. I always have a bag in my purse."

Comfort rewatch: "Survivor. I watched all 50 seasons in three months last year. And Top Chef — anything about food and travel, I'm in."

Always in my bag: "My emotional support Stanley. I used to never drink water on set, and now I always have it with me. It's been a game changer."

Coffee order: "I'm not really a coffee person. I love a chai latte, or an iced tea. But if it's gingerbread latte season? I'm absolutely getting that."