‘AGT’s Howie Mandel Reveals Family’s Scary Secret Health Battle

Alyssa Norwin September 17, 2025, 4:47 pm

Howie Mandel performs his stand-up comedy routine at the David Copperfield Theater — Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Howie Mandel and his daughter Jackelyn Schulz are giving fans some insight into what their family has privately been dealing with for the last several years. The America’s Got Talent judge revealed in a new interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger that his grandson, Axel, was diagnosed with leukemia.

Axel is Schulz’s son. “This is the first time we’ve ever talked about it on camera,” Mandel admitted.

The duo revealed that Axel was diagnosed after a trip to Hawaii when they took the toddler to the hospital thinking he had the flu. He had his first dose of chemotherapy within 24 hours. While recalling that time in her life, Jackelyn got emotional and broke down in tears, leading her dad to take the charge on sharing what happened.

“He had to have a bone marrow transplant from his sister,” Mandel explained, adding that Axel is “doing good now” and “in remission.” However, he’s still dealing with the aftermath of his transplant. “Three, four years, and it’s still a struggle,” Mandel shared. “He doesn’t have an immune system, so he can’t go to school. He’s doing well. His leukemia is in remission. We’re just trying to build up his immune system.”

Howie Mandel/Instagam

Schulz pointed out that “there’s so much that goes into treatment” when someone is diagnosed with cancer. “We are really fortunate to be where we are right now and for him to be happy. He’s doing well, but we’re still dealing with the bumps and hurdles that go along with the diagnosis and transplant,” she explained.

The father/daughter duo also reflected on getting hateful comments from people who had no idea what they were dealing with behind the scenes. “We’ve been doing [our] podcast, and sometimes somebody would come in to do a podcast, and they’d have a cold and [Jackelyn] would be wearing a mask,” he pointed out, with his daughter adding,”I got such hate and vitriol. [People] thought it was because I didn’t agree with their politics or whatever. In my mind, I’m like, ‘They have no idea what I’m going through right now. They have no idea that I’m just trying to be able to go visit my son in the hospital.'”

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Of their decision to keep the diagnosis a secret, Schulz said she’s a “very private person,” especially when it comes to her kids and family. “You would think that talking about this diagnosis or what I’m going through or even crying would be something that no one would hate on,” Schulz shared. “You’d be surprised, or, I fear, that there would be people that would find a reason to hate on it or find a reason to justify why I’m going through this. I don’t need the negativity in my life, especially when it’s surrounding that issue.”

America’s Got Talent, Season 20, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC