Debbie Allen, 75, Admits She's 'Disciplined' After Being Diagnosed With Pre-Diabetes: 'It's All About Moderation'

Though Debbie Allen was diagnosed with pre-diabetes several years ago, she's not letting that stop her!

"I'm still doing things in moderation, and I know I have to be disciplined," the actress, 75, exclusively told OK! on Tuesday, February 4, to kick off Abbott’s new initiative, designed to spark meaningful conversations around diabetes stigma and advocate for the diabetes community. "After the fire, my friends came out and we had a little bit of vodka — but we didn't drink it with sugary stuff! If I'm going to drink something, I know it's better for me to have straight tequila than a margarita!"

The Grey's Anatomy star, who plays Catherine Fox on the hit show, seems to be living her best life right now.

"I think that I am wearing a pair of shoes that is going places I really want to go," she shared. "I go to work every day, and I go back and I still dance. That gives me joy. I don't get enough rest, so I am going to work on that. I'm going to try to figure out at least two Fridays a month that I leave work early and take the weekend."

"And the weekend really belongs to my grandkids — and they wear me out! But I don't mind," Allen, who opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles, where she currently teaches young dancers, added. "They want to put on makeup and wigs, and they are incredible dancers."

She is also thrilled that she is still appearing on Shonda Rhimes' show. "People love to hate Catherine!" she quipped. "She's such a b----! That's why she got slapped. I asked for it. It was a meme and millions of people tuned in just for that."

"I was so glad when they finally asked me to be on Season 7, but I didn't know it would last this long! I'm still here. God bless Shonda Rhimes. She created a model that has a footprint that continues to expand. I was in the rainforest in Cuba and some people were riding on bikes, and the woman screamed and fell off her bike. She was like, 'Catherine Fox!'"

In the future, the star hopes to come back to New York and do more theater and make a movie for children. "They need one that is for the kids!" she said.

Allen is also thrilled to be partnering with Abbott for the "Above the Bias" campaign to encourage empathy toward people with diabetes.

The campaign created the short film, "Above the Bias," which shows what life is like for someone with diabetes — and how some comments can hurt them and prevent them from seeking medical care.

"I'm just happy that Abbott created this initiative and developed a film that is so good," she said. "When they came to me, I looked at the film and said, 'We need to do this.' It's personal for me, and I can speak to people authentically about it. It's not something that somebody had to tell me what to say."

When Allen attended a luncheon in New York City where the film was shown, she said it was "nice to hear from other medical people in the audience" about what they had to say.

"I realized through this campaign there was a conversation that needed to be had. I have someone close to me who never wants anyone to know they're living with diabetes. It's a stigma you don't have to be embarrassed about. You shouldn't be. You mustn't be. People are sensitized to it and they're not aware about it. It's not funny, so we're now changing the conversation. No more jokes," she added.