Veteran Italian television host Enrica Bonaccorti has revealed she is battling cancer, sharing the news with her followers in a candid Instagram post that quickly went viral.
The 74-year-old presenter, known for her decades on Italian television and radio, posted a smiling photo of herself in a wheelchair, telling fans she had been silent for months while coping with the diagnosis.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen or heard from each other, here or on television,” Bonaccorti wrote. “For four months I’ve hidden away, even from my closest friends, not answering or calling back, as if my absence could make what’s happening disappear.”
Bonaccorti apologized to her supporters, saying she had struggled to find the words to go public. She referred to the late actress and friend Eleonora Giorgi, who spoke openly about her own illness before her death last year.
“I always said that if the same thing happened to me, I’d never be able to face it the way she did. And in fact I don’t know what to say, except that it has happened,” she wrote. “But we are at the beginning, and now that I’ve told you, I already feel stronger. I won’t be an ostrich anymore — now I want to fly again with you.”
Her post drew an outpouring of support from fans, colleagues and media outlets across Italy, where she remains a beloved figure.
Bonaccorti, born in Savona in 1949, has hosted popular programs since the 1970s and is also an actress, lyricist and author.
