The Full House cast's health issues over the years as star reveals shocking new cancer diagnosis
The 1990s saw a number of sitcoms catapulted to must-watch status on our screens, with many racking up millions of regular viewers, such as Friends, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons.
One of the biggest episodic hits of the era, Full House, is often overlooked when people think about this booming era for the sitcom format, but the hugely popular show found itself in the 30 most-watched shows in America from its second season onwards.
Its family-friendly storylines and G-rated humor made it a staple watch in homes across the country, with widower dad Danny Tanner's attempt to raise his daughters, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle, alongside brother-in-law Jesse and friend Joey, warming the hearts of millions.
But in the 30 years since the show stopped airing after an impressive eight-year run of 192 episodes, many members of the Full House cast have developed serious health issues, including Dave Coulier, who played Joey.
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This week, Coulier announced the tragic news that he had been diagnosed with another cancer, barely a year after revealing a separate diagnosis of stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in November 2024.
Sadly, a number of the show's stars have also died over the three decades that Full House has been off the air, including 'America's Dad' Bob Saget, who played Danny Tanner. He died after hitting his head in an accidental fall in 2022.
Other stars from the show who have passed in the years since broadcast including: Alice Herson (Claire Tanner S1), Doris Roberts (Claire Tanner S3), John Aprea (Nick Katsopolis), Jack Kruschen (Iorgos Katsopolis), and Yvonne Wilder (Irene Katsopolis).
Below are all of the major cast members who have sadly suffered a major health issue since gracing our screens alongside the Tanner family.
Dave Coulier
Dave Coulier revealed his shocking second cancer diagnosis on December 2, less than nine months after being declared cancer-free after a previous Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis in November 2024.
Doctors found evidence of a head and neck cancer, which is usually confirmed via biopsy and physical exam.
Coulier told NBC that "Something flared on the PET scan, and it turned out that I have p16 squamous carcinoma at the base of my tongue."
This new cancer is not related to his previous lymphoma and is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which infects around 40 per cent of the population.
The 66-year-old actor and comedian has shared that he is undergoing intense radiation treatments for his disease, which has a 'very good' survivability rate.
"I'm currently going through 35 radiation treatments," the star said, while sharing that this course of treatment should be complete by the end of the year, December 31.
Jodie Sweetin
Jodie Sweetin played the sarcastic middle child Stephanie Tanner, who often had to deal with the most difficult storylines on Full House, from grief to smoking and joyriding.
in her real life, Sweetin has also had to deal with a number of difficulties. One of these came to the fore after the show fell off the air, as she began to struggle with substance abuse.
She began to experiment with drugs after the show ended, eventually ending up on a meth bender - something that required an intervention from all of the main cast members to pull her out of addiction.
"There is a certain sense of loss when a series ends. It is kind of hard to figure out who you are when you’ve lost your job at age 13, when that was basically how you identified yourself,” she explained to Good Morning America.
This continued throughout much of her teenage years, with the now 43-year-old revealing her long journey with addiction.
"I had gone to treatment in my 20s, and then I had kids, and then I got sober, and then I drank again, and then I got sober," she told the Barely Famous Podcast.
"It's been up and down, but it's been 16 years since I've drank alcohol and 13 years since I relapsed on meds with a car accident that I was in."
However, despite these challenges, Sweetin has made her adversity her strength, advocating for substance abuse recovery charities over the years.
For this work, she was presented with an award in 2019, by none other than her former co-star John Stamos, who credits her with his own sobriety.
John Stamos
Like Sweetin, John Stamos (Jesse) has also faced his own addiction issues, becoming a problem drinker in the years after Full House ended.
He laid bare his issues with alcohol in his 2024 autobiography, If You Would Have Told Me, where he looks back on his 2015 arrest for driving under the influence.
"I had that DUI and I was like, 'I can't do this. I've got to straighten up," People reports him writing. "That's when I was confusing the universe because I'm not a bad person, but I was doing crappy things."
Stamos said his life went 'dark for a little bit', with him doing a stint in rehab to work on his issues. But it soon got better, with his recovery coming in time to begin filming the Netflix follow-up to the hit 90s sitcom, Fuller House.
The 62-year-old credited his former on-screen daughter with saving him, saying: "Jodie [Sweetin] lovingly allowed me to walk my own path and when I finally humbled myself to ask for your help, I realized that the perky little blabbermouth had become the master of wisdom and was right by my side during some of the most difficult days of my life."
Andrea Barber
Playing Kimmy Gibbler, the Tanners' forthright and often irritating next-door neighbor, Andrea Barber became a repeat Full House character from season one onwards, eventually taking on a larger role in the sequel Fuller House.
In contrast to her bubbly on-screen role, later in life, Barber experienced her own profound struggles, particularly after the birth of her second child.
Barber fell into a hard postpartum depression that flipped her life on its head.
“I knew something was significantly wrong because it started spiralling. It started with throwing up every day and not being able to sleep at night," she told Today Parents.
"Then I stopped eating except for maybe a banana a day, and I lost a significant amount of weight. I eventually couldn't get out of bed for several weeks and I couldn't take care of my babies, which was another huge problem. That's when I knew it was really bad.”
With such a monumental weight on her shoulders, the 49-year-old needed a helping hand. She told Today: "My parents just took me under their wing.
"I called them one day at 5 in the morning and said, 'I can't stop the world from spinning, I can't get up out of bed and I don't know what to do.' They moved me, my children and my husband into their home so that they could take care of me and the children," she revealed.
"Slowly, with that support system, plus the medication, plus finding a therapist who I really jived with, all of these things are what brought me back to optimal health so I could function again.”
She also revealed that her mental health struggles had begun on the Full House set, with her intense anxiety causing her to occasionally throw up before shooting.
Marie-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen never really had a choice but to be an acting star, making her on-screen debut alongside her twin sister Ashley as Michelle Tanner when they were just nine months old.
Despite years of attempted press intrusion into their lives, the sisters have remained staunchly private. However, in 2004, it emerged that Mary-Kate had been admitted to a medical facility to treat an eating disorder.
At the same time, Ashley withdrew from a press tour to provide support to her sister, then 18, with the twins' spokesperson sharing: “She is thankful for the encouragement and support of her friends and family who are with her every step of the way.”
Later that year, Ashley shared with the public: “The support’s been really amazing. She's taking the time she needs for herself ... I’m here for her whenever she needs me, and, you know, that’s how it works.”
Following her recovery and a few small acting roles, Mary-Kate joined Ashley in retiring from the screen, founding and developing a growing fashion empire.
Candace Cameron Bure
DJ, the oldest of the Tanner Children, was played by Candace Cameron Bure, who, like much of the rest of the cast, began to struggle after filming ended on Full House.
Bure tragically developed bulimia when she was 18 years old, a time that she describes as difficult and lonely.
“I sat lonely so many nights, not knowing what to do with myself. But there was always one friend that was always there, that was so readily available anytime I wanted, and that for me was food,” she said while opening up about her eating issues on a panel in 2016.
“It became a very destructive relationship, and it was one that really caught me off guard. I got into a cycle of binge eating and feeling such guilt and shame for that, that I would start purging.
"And without even knowing, it soon just took over to a point where you feel such a loss of control.”
Though Bure has thankfully recovered and manages to maintain a healthy approach to food, she still identifies as a bulimic.
"Because the thoughts - whether I'm doing that or not - they never leave me," she said on her self-titled podcast.
Topics: Film and TV, Health, Cancer
William Morgan