Jill Eikenberry Survives Hollywood and Breast Cancer

After two wars with breast cancer, Jill Eikenberry is reflective about being 64-years-young.

"I'm one of those people who enjoys getting older. I've had breast cancer twice. I wasn't sure the first time I got it if I would ever get older," she says.

"I've never had those feeling of looking in the mirror and saying, 'Why me? I've certainly never said, 'Why do I see these fine lines on my face?' I'm actually enjoying them," she says.

The star of "L.A. Law" and the new film "Something Borrowed" sips tea on a late spring morning in the New York condo she shares with her co-star and husband of almost four decades, Michael Tucker.

Ask for her beauty secrets and she says a marriage that has lasted – no, make that thrived — 38 years is the best way to really feel beautiful.

"You don't feel terrible about getting older when you're in love with someone and they're supportive. I've always had the great blessing of living with a man who finds me attractive at any age," she says.

A TRUE LOVE STORY

Eikenberry and Tucker famously starred on the now classic TV series "L.A. Law" where their characters, legal eagle Ann Kelsey and tax specialist Stuart Markowitz, also had a sexy TV marriage that included making national news after talking about a steamy bedroom technique called the "Venus Butterfly." (Blushing! More on that in a moment.)

But it's their real life love story that rivals anything a screenwriter could concoct.

She says once the series wrapped, they decided to focus on their marriage. Really focus.

"The first 13 years of our marriage we took us for granted, as most people do," Jill says. "We were so focused on our careers and the breast cancer hit at the same time as 'L.A. Law' became a big hit.

"We had to face morality and TV immortality at the same time," she says.

"After the dust settled and I recovered, we thought, 'What is really important in life?' You spend so much time grabbing for the brass ring that you think that's what you want. When mortality knocks on the door, you end up with a different perspective," she says.

"We looked at each other as the most important things in our lives," she says. "Of course, that includes our kids, too."

When the series wrapped, they left LA to move to northern California. Calls from their agents? Sure. But mostly they did plays while he wrote books and she did a few movie roles.

"We almost got out of the biz," she says. "Again, our relationship was the priority. We decided to travel more and spend real time together. We focused on how are we communicating? Are we getting into old patterns with each other that don't serve us? Are we loving each other the best that we can?"

Part of loving each other for the Tuckers is going on adventures. On one of their trips abroad, they decided to buy a house in Italy.

"We were spending a lot of time in the South of France because it was near Italy," she says. "Finally, we said, 'Why not live in this place we love?' And it has been wonderful.

"We live in a 350-year-old house on the Italian countryside where we pick olives," she says. "We have a country life there and come back to the US to work and be with family."

"Maybe that's my beauty secret," she says with a laugh. "I bask in the Italian sun and bathe in olive oil!"

A FEW HEALTH TIPS

Jill says that she has changed her diet with an emphasis on total health.

"I've always led a fairy healthy lifestyle, but I'm eating differently now," she says. "I discovered I could lower my cholesterol like crazy by eating a semi-vegan diet."

"My husband is a great cook and he always loved to cook with meat and cheese. I'm from Wisconsin, so I love my cheese, but I was having some cholesterol issues from the breast cancer medicine I'm on," she says.

"My cholesterol went down 60 points from my vegan diet," she says. "Plus, I have a lot of energy – and I'm losing about a pound a week."

She's also a big believer in combining Pilates and yoga with cardio. "All of these work on different parts of your body."

Her other healthy tip? "I believe in meditation and do so sometimes twice a day. It's a great way to check in with yourself," she says.

EMBRACE LIFE'S SURPRISES

As Jill and Michael embraced this act of their lives, there was another surprise in store.

Her elderly mother suffers from dementia, but the family embraced the challenge of her care.

Now, her mother lives across the hallway from her in New York City with 24-hour assistance. "It looks like a real tragedy because my mom is in decline," she says. "But it has brought our family together. Our daughter moved back to New York City to cook for my mom.

"Mom is having a lovely last chapter. I go across the hall every day and hold her hand. She doesn't talk much, but lights up when I walk into the room," Jill says. "I never had that sort of relationship with my mom when we were younger. She wasn't a very affectionate person."

"I always wanted to be able to sit with her and feel our affection and love," she says.

"Now, I get to do this every single day," she says.

By the way, her mother will turn 92 next week.

AND NOW A RACY MOMENT

I saved the best for last.

Michael and Jill garnered worldwide whispers for a "L.A. Law" episode where they discussed a bedroom technique called "The Venus Butterfly."

"I still get asked about it all the time!" she whoops. "It's one of the top ten TV moments of all time like 'Who Shot JR?'

People ask her to describe the Venus.

"I always just say, 'We know what it is. Do you have a half hour?'" she says with a laugh. "Usually the other person starts blushing!"

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