‘The Guiding Light’ Star Kim Zimmer Has Real-Life Illness That Her Character Faced

Arthur L. Cohen /© CBS /Courtesy Everett Collection

Kim Zimmer portrayed Reva Shayne on the CBS daytime drama The Guiding Light from 1983 to 1990, returning in 1995 until the show’s final episode on Sept. 8, 2009.

In 2006, a storyline had Shayne diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, Zimmer faces the same crisis in real life.

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Nov. 6,” she revealed on the special Daytime Stands Up: A Benefit for Stand Up To Cancer – We All Have a Story, that streamed live Thursday.

Zimmer has undergone a mastectomy and expects to have her last chemotherapy infusion on May 21.

During the streaming event, Zimmer thanked her family and friends for their support, admitting that she “would have fallen apart,” if not for them.

Zimmer has been married since 1981 to actor A.C. Weary. They share three adult children, including actor Jake Weary.

She strongly advocated for going to the doctor for screenings.

“I’m here to say early detection, early detection, early detection, early detection,” she said. “Get your mammograms, get them soon.”

Zimmer’s character on The Guiding Light did not to share her diagnosis with loved ones.

“I can’t imagine getting a diagnosis like that and not wanting the person that you love most in the world to be there standing next to you,” she said. “The fans reacted to that too… It made for great drama.”

Guiding Light concluded a 57-season run in 2009.