Katee Sackhoff has been celebrated (and, unfortunately, sometimes booed) for her roles in shows like Battlestar Galactica, The Mandalorian and more. Yet, lately, she’s been speaking out in relation to her most important role — being a mom. Sackhoff opened up about issues in pediatric care that she has witnessed amidst her daughter’s battle with cancer, saying that it takes “a pissed-off mom” to point out flaws in the system.
The actress and her husband Robin Gadsby had their first child, Ginevra Grace Gadsby, in December 2021. Just eight months later, Ginervra (aka Ginny) was diagnosed with cancer and, while Sackhoff said in an Instagram post that her daughter is thriving today, she’s asking for help because there are so many people with sick children who see different outcomes. The actress wrote:
The pediatric care world is shockingly underfunded. In a country that claims to care about children, that should make every single one of us furious. Our daughter is one of the lucky ones. She’s thriving now, off treatment but too many families don’t get the same outcome. That has to change.
The caption accompanied a video from an interview that Katee Sackhoff gave, in which she said that just 4 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s budget goes to pediatrics. She said doctors are not choosing to go into the field because pediatric oncologists reportedly make, on average, 50 percent less than adult oncologists.
Sackhoff is calling for that to change, as she continued:
So here’s my promise: I’m not staying quiet. I’ll fight to fund the organizations doing real, life-saving work and push for change at the government level. Because our kids deserve better. If you’re a parent, or you love one, you should be angry too. You’re one phone call away from the worst day of your life. Get angry. Get involved. Our kids are the future. Let’s start acting like it. 💛
Those are some powerful words, and knowing what her family has been through the past few years, it’s not hard to understand why. The actress — whose movie with Josh Hartnett has so many WTF moments — is determined to change things so that more families can experience the positive outcome hers has.
Katee Sackhoff and her husband are among the celebrities who’ve chosen not to share their children’s faces (they also have a son, Granger Oakes Gadsby, who was born in May 2024), but that hasn’t stopped them from posting some of their adventures to social media. The family recently shared some pics from a Disney vacation to Instagram:
It’s good to see Ginny is doing well, and we love to see the whole family having fun. It’s also touching to see how passionate Sackhoff is about ensuring that other families are able to continue to make their own happy memories.
Katee Sackhoff’s most recent on-screen project Fight or Flight is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and available to stream now with a Paramount+ subscription.