Bijou Phillips, the actor, model, and singer known for her eclectic career and high-profile family ties, is now at the center of a deeply personal and urgent health battle. As of February 2026, the 45-year-old is hospitalized at CORE Kidney at UCLA Health, where she is undergoing dialysis and desperately seeking a living kidney donor. The situation is critical: time is running short, and her representatives and loved ones are making a public plea for help.
Phillips’s health struggles began at birth. According to Variety, she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent the first three months of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on dialysis. This rocky start set the stage for a lifetime of medical challenges. Despite these early difficulties, Phillips carved out a successful career in entertainment, starring in films such as Almost Famous, Bully, and Hostel: Part II, and making her music debut with the 1999 album I’d Rather Eat Glass. Yet, behind the scenes, she was quietly fighting for her health.
Her first major kidney crisis came in 2017. After years on the transplant list—she had been waiting since 2012, as reported by Page Six—Phillips was rushed to the hospital with a fever and diagnosed with a blood infection. The situation escalated quickly, but a friend stepped forward as a donor. The transplant was a success, at least initially. Phillips expressed her gratitude at the time, writing on Instagram, “I have been waiting for this day to come for a long time. Dialysis has been a blessing, and also extremely hard. I got an infection and am on my second catheter. This is major surgery, FSGS is scary, but I’m soooo intensely Grateful for my husband, my daughter, our Family!”
Her then-husband, actor Danny Masterson, also celebrated the outcome. As reported by People, he wrote, “My lady has been slowly dying for the past 7 years of an incurable kidney disease. She was given the gift of an encore by a tall angel. Our daughter will have a mother. We do not take lightly how incredibly fortunate we are. 100% successful transplant.”
But the relief proved temporary. Over the next eight years, Phillips faced a series of complications stemming from the transplant. Chief among them was infection with the BK virus, a human polyomavirus that can be particularly dangerous for transplant recipients. The virus led to both cellular and antibody rejection of the transplanted kidney, severely compromising its function. Despite adopting a vegan diet and working closely with her medical team—including her current physician, Dr. Anjay Rastogi—her health continued to decline.
By early 2026, Phillips’s transplanted kidney had failed. She was admitted to UCLA Health and began dialysis once more, a grueling process she had first endured as an infant. Her condition is described as stable but fragile. As her representative told Variety, “A donor is needed soon.” The message is echoed by her own words on social media: “I need help finding a kidney. I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt, and, most importantly, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter.”
Phillips’s public plea is deeply personal. She is the mother of 11-year-old Fianna, her daughter with ex-husband Danny Masterson. The two were married for nearly 12 years before Phillips filed for divorce in 2025, just days after Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rape—a conviction that made headlines nationwide. In October 2025, Phillips filed a petition to legally change her daughter’s last name from Masterson to Phillips, a move that underscored her new life as a single parent.
“That transplant gave me 8 precious years to be a mother to my daughter—but I have had many complications since, including the BK virus which led to both a cellular and antibody rejection,” Phillips shared in a recent social media post, as reported by E! News. She included heartfelt images of herself with Fianna: one from her daughter’s infancy, and another showing the close bond they share today. The message is clear—Phillips’s fight is not just for herself, but for her family.
Her representative, Cade Hudson, emphasized the urgency of the situation to Page Six: “Time is of the essence as they search for donors.” Phillips herself has been proactive, providing information about how to become a living donor and thanking her supporters for their encouragement. She is currently being treated by Dr. Rastogi, a renowned nephrologist, and remains hopeful that a match can be found in time.
Phillips’s story is one of resilience, but also of the relentless challenges faced by those with chronic kidney disease. Her early years were marked by hospital stays and medical interventions, but she refused to let her illness define her. Instead, she became a fixture in Hollywood’s social scene, mingling with celebrities like Paris Hilton and dating musicians such as Sean Ono Lennon and Evan Dando. She built a career in both music and film, and later found success on television with a recurring role in Raising Hope.
Yet, for all her public visibility, Phillips’s health struggles were largely private—until now. By sharing her story and making a direct appeal for help, she has brought attention to the realities of life with kidney disease and the importance of organ donation. Her case also highlights the risks associated with transplants, such as viral infections and rejection, which can undermine even the most successful surgeries.
As Phillips awaits a new kidney, her focus remains on her daughter and the hope for more years together. “Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, and friends,” she wrote. The outpouring of support from fans, friends, and the broader public has been significant, but the need for a donor remains urgent.
For those interested in helping, Phillips and her team have provided information on how to be tested as a potential donor. The process involves medical screening and compatibility testing, but for Phillips and others in her situation, it can mean the difference between life and death.
As the search for a donor continues, Phillips’s journey stands as a testament to the power of hope, the strength of family, and the critical importance of organ donation. Her story has already touched many, and her determination to fight for her future—and for her daughter’s—remains unwavering.