OCTAVIA SPENCER ON HEALTH, PRODUCING SHOWS THAT MATTER, AND HER UPCOMING SUPER BOWL SPOT

Ahead of Super Bowl LX, millions of viewers will tune in for the game, the halftime show, and the commercials. One of those spots will feature Octavia Spencer, and the message she’s carrying is all about health.

The Oscar-winning actor has lived with type 2 diabetes for two decades. More recently, she learned she also has high blood pressure. When doctors explained that those two conditions can quietly increase the risk of kidney damage and heart problems, she decided to speak up. Spencer connected with Boehringer Ingelheim, and the American Diabetes Association, National Kidney Foundation, Mended Hearts and WomenHeart, for the Detect the SOS campaign, a public health effort urging people to ask their doctors for a simple urine test that checks kidney function.

She said the turning point came when she realized how easily the warning signs could be missed. “When you have high blood pressure and diabetes, your body could be sending out an SOS through your kidneys,” Spencer said. “And it's a simple urine test that you take to make sure that your kidneys are functioning.”

The test, known as a uACR screening, isn’t always part of routine checkups. Spencer wants that to change, especially in Black communities where diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension are more common.

“I think first and foremost, you need to know your numbers,” she said. “You need to know what your blood sugar levels are. You need to know what your blood pressure numbers are, and you need to know what your kidney levels are.”

Spencer’s message will reach one of the largest audiences of the year through a new campaign ad airing during the Big Game. She’ll share the screen with Sofía Vergara. In an experience that she describes as both fun and purposeful. The goal is to make the information easy to remember.

“It is the biggest event in our nation,” she said. “Knowledge is power. And the more you know about your body, the more powerful you are and to be there for your families.” 

The health campaign arrives at a busy moment in Spencer’s career. Through her production banner, she continues to back projects that center real people and overlooked stories. Next month, her company returns to Investigation Discovery with Lost Women of Alaska, a three-hour true crime series that examines the killings of two Alaska Native women and the investigation that followed. The project builds on earlier installments in the franchise, which have focused on missing and murdered women whose cases often receive little attention. For Spencer, the subject matter is tied to something deeper.

“Actually, my mom passed away when I was 17, and it was always her dream, not necessarily mine, for me to be a lawyer,” she said. “I was always a creative. So to now go back and do shows that perhaps bring closure and justice to families is, I think, maybe a little of an homage to her and a bit of responsibility that I shoulder.”

A second series, FEDS, offers viewers access to the FBI and the work behind major investigations. Both shows lean into the same approach she now takes across her career; looking at the full picture before signing on. “I don't choose roles necessarily,  I choose projects,” Spencer explained. “I look at the project as a whole. Who's telling the story? What type of impact will it have culturally?”

The actor’s versatility is why she’s thrived in this industry for so long. Spencer can headline a studio comedy, narrate a documentary, or produce a crime series without losing her footing. For Spencer, this moment (the upcoming campaign airing during the Super Bowl) isn’t so much about visibility as it is about reach. If even a few viewers schedule a test or ask a question at their next appointment, the work has done its job. In a career built on advocacy, that’s the kind of spotlight she’s comfortable standing in.

2026-02-07T07:10:18Z