Joan’s own patient journey there began in 2011, following a back injury. “I was in LA filming this television series called American Horror Story – and it was indeed a horror story,” she quips. “All of the cast were sitting around on this incredibly cold soundstage, which had been built on the Paramount lot. The whole crew were wearing scarves and sitting in chairs with no backs for weeks. I remember waking up in the middle of the night in screaming agony, so my husband, Percy, called Dr Lawrence Piro, the medical director of Cedars‑Sinai, who I had met before socially. He sent an ambulance and within five or 10 minutes I was in Cedars being taken care of, which was wonderful. From then on I would go and visit him whenever I was in LA, because I believe that taking care of yourself is one of the most important things.”
It seems that Dame Joan’s back has been an ongoing concern in recent years – in July 2022 she was airlifted to the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco, having been rendered immobile by a trapped nerve. It stopped her exercising for some time, but she’s mobile again and impressively agile. “I work out with my trainer a couple of times a week – just basic Pilates-type exercise, rather than using one of those [reformer] pilates machines, though,” she clarifies.
Recalling her previously saying that she took morning walks with Percy, I ask whether that’s still part of her daily routine. She looks appalled. “I hate walking – it bores me,” she cries. “I’ll walk around my apartment tweaking the flowers, but that’s about it.” Turning to Dr Piro, she says: “That sounds so ridiculous, and it will look ridiculous when you see it in print, but it’s true.”