LOS ANGELES: Award-winning "Veep" star Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed Thursday that she has  breast cancer.

The 56-year-old American actress disclosed the diagnosis to her 750,000 Twitter followers, posting a picture of a printed note that read: "One in eight women get breast cancer. Today, I'm the one."

"The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring friends, and fantastic insurance through my union," she continued.

"The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality."

Louis-Dreyfus, who has two children with actor Brad Hall, attached an image of the note to a tweet in which she wrote: "Just when you thought..."

The news comes less than two weeks after the "Veep" star won a sixth consecutive Emmy for comedy acting.

A native New Yorker of French stock, Louis-Dreyfus has been one of America's most popular and influential comedy actors since she found fame with cult sitcom "Seinfeld" in the 1990s.

On "Veep" she plays a somewhat bumbling vice president who later becomes the acting president, despite her hapless staff making political blunders along the way.

She has six consecutive best actress Emmys for "Veep" as well as three as an executive producer when it was awarded best comedy series.

She has won in the past for her roles on "Seinfeld" -- which also earned her a Golden Globe -- and "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

It has been a roller coaster year or so for the actress, who tearfully dedicated her acting Emmy in 2016 to her father, who passed away two days earlier.

"I am so glad that he liked 'Veep,'" she said, her voice breaking down as she accepted the award. "Because his opinion was the one that really mattered."

"Veep" recently announced that the seventh season of the HBO show, due to air in 2018, will be its last.

Among the people expressing support for Louis-Dreyfus after her cancer revelation was former vice president Joe Biden, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46.

"We Veeps stick together. Jill and I, and all of the Bidens, are with you, Julia," Biden wrote, referring to his wife.

He attached a photo from a comic video in which he and Louis-Dreyfus spoofed the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2014.

"Yes we do. Love back to all of you," the actress replied.

-AFP