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Marina Wheeler has urged women to attend their cervical screenings after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in May.
The QC and estranged wife of prime minister Boris Johnson revealed she underwent two operations as a result of her condition and is now “cancer-free”.
Wheeler shared the details of her diagnosis in The Sunday Times
The 54-year-old explained that she wanted to share her story to motivate other women to book their cervical screenings in light of research claiming attendance has hit a 19-year low in the UK.
“I know the take-up of smear tests is way down,” Wheeler told the publication. “I know they can save your life.
Show all 20 1 /20Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Michelle Obama The American lawyer and author served as the US first lady from 2009 to 2018. In March, her book Becoming was on course to become the most popular autobiography to date, having sold more than 10m copies, according to her publisher Bertelsmann.
Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Oprah Winfrey The media mogul is best known for her television presenting and philanthropic work. However, Winfrey is also an accomplished actor, having starred in The Colour Purple (for which she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Academy Awards), Selma , and A Wrinkle in Time .
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Angelina Jolie The US actor, filmmaker and humanitarian has won accolades including an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. Her work spans almost four decades, with roles in films like Maleficient, Wanted, Lara Croft , and Mr & Mrs Smith .
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Queen Elizabeth II As the first child of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the royal took to the throne in 1952, meaning she has now ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history. Her Majesty recently celebrated her 93rd birthday.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Emma Watson The 29-year-old actor started out her career in the film industry, with her role as Hermoine Granger in the beloved British literary adaptation Harry Potter . The Paris-born star has since gone onto study at both Oxford and Brown University and is a UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Malala Yousafzai The Pakistani female education activist is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. In 2012, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Yousafzai on the bus home from school after documenting her experiences during the Taliban’s growing influencer in the region. In recent years, the 22-year-old has become a leading figure of girls' rights and is currently studying at Oxford University.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Peng Liyuan Liyuan is a Chinese folk singer and artist who is also married to the current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping. Vanity Fair listed Peng in its annual best-dressed list of 2013, with Forbes naming her the 57th most powerful woman in the world a year later.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Hillary Clinton The former politician was the first lady of the US from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the 2016 election but lost out on the role to then Republican Party nominee Donald Trump. She is the first woman to receive the presidential nomination of a major US political party and documented her life in politics in her best-selling book What Happened in 2017.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Tu Youyou The Chinese pharmaceutical chemist is best known for having discovered artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin – drugs used to treat malaria. She is the first mainland Chinese scientist to have received a Nobel Prize in a scientific category. Youyou is often referred to as the “three noes” winner having won the prize without a medical degree, doctorate, or training overseas.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Taylor Swift The 29-year-old singer is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with hits such as ‘We Are Never Getting Back Together’, ‘Shake It Off, and ‘Bad Blood’. Not only is the songwriter making waves in the music industry but she’s also starring in the upcoming film Cats as character Bombalurina.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Madonna Singer. Songwriter. Actor. Businesswoman. The 60-year-old has many titles under her belt with successes including hit songs such as ‘Like a Prayer’ and ‘Vogue’. The American star has also stared in films like Evita and Who’s That Girl .
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Angela Merkel The 65-year-old politician currently serves as Chancellor of Germany. She was also the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). In October, Merkel announced that she would not seek re-election as leader of the CDU and as Chancellor in 2021.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Deepika Padukone The Indian film actor and producer is one of the highest-paid actors in the country. Last year, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Padukone regularly speaks out about issues such as feminism and depression after she was diagnosed with the medical conditions in 2014.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Priyanka Chopra The Indian actor, who recently married singer Nick Jonas, is also a singer and film producer. She first hit the headlines in 2000 after winning the Miss World pageant. Chopra regularly speaks about the importance of self-love, women’s rights, and mental health awareness.
Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Ellen DeGeneres The American comedian is best known for her work as the host of her eponymously-titled talk show, The Ellen Degeneres Show. She has previously hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primetime Emmys as well as starring in films such as Finding Nemo and Finding Dory as the voice of Dory – a blue tang fish who suffers from memory loss.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Aishwarya Rai Rai is an Indian actor, model and winner of the Miss World pageant in 1994. The 45-year-old has won two Filmfare Awards and was honoured with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Sushmita Sen The Indian film actor and model was won the Miss Universe contest at the age of 18 in 1994. She has since worked in several Hindi films, and Tamil and Bengali language projects. Sen is a role model for many women around the world having adopted two girls at the age of 25 and has described being born a woman as a ‘huge award’.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Theresa May The British prime minister is a politician who previously served as the British Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. She is the second woman to have been elected to the position of prime minister in British history.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Melania Trump The former model is currently the first lady of the US. She was born in Slovenia and regularly speaks about the importance of teaching and empowering young people.
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Top 20 most admired women in 2019 Yang Mi The Chinese actor and singer made her acting debut in the television series Tang Ming Huang. The 32-year-old is also a global ambassador for US fashion brand Michael Kors and has previously starred in an Estée Lauder campaign.
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“If people are willing to listen – as they seem to be – why not say so? Why be afraid? I would urge other women to make the time and do the tests.”
When Wheeler was diagnosed, she explained how she brushed it off entirely.
“That’s absurd. I have no time for this,” the QC remembered thinking at the time. “Quite apart from everything else, I have a book to write.”
Wheeler described the experience as “profound”, adding it gave her a new understanding of “the incalculable value of holding close those who you love and trust”.
Wheeler filed for divorce from Johnson in September last year. They have four children together.
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