Emilia Clarkesays she’s missing “quite a bit” of her brain after suffering two aneurysms in 2011 and 2013.“The amount of my brain that is no longer usable — it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions,” theGame of Thronesalum, 35,told BBC One’sSunday Morningover the weekend. “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.““There’s quite a bit missing!” she added on the news program. “Which always makes me laugh. “Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. And so the blood finds a different route to get around but then whatever bit it’s missing is therefore gone.“Clarke experienced her first aneurysm, which caused a stroke and a subarachnoid hemorrhage, soon after wrapping up filming on the first season ofGame of Thronesin 2011.David M. Benett/Dave Benett/GettyThat led to brain surgery, and two weeks later, Clarke couldn’t remember her name. “I was suffering from a condition called aphasia, a consequence of the trauma my brain had suffered,” she said ina 2019 essay forThe New Yorker(aphasia is the same diagnosis actor Bruce Willisdisclosedhe had received earlier this year).For more on Emilia Clarke, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.“In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug,” she wrote. “I asked the medical staff to let me die. My job — my entire dream of what my life would be — centered on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost.“Thankfully for Clarke, her aphasia was temporary. “I was sent back to the I.C.U. and, after about a week, the aphasia passed,” she wrote. “I was able to speak.“In 2013, Clarke underwent a second surgery to address another aneurysm that was about to “pop.” Though the surgery was traumatic, with complications, the actress has been able to return to work. She’s currently starring inThe Seagullat London’s Harold Pinter Theatre.Helen Sloan/HBONever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Clarke has also created a charity,SameYou, to raise money for people recovering from brain injuries and strokes.The life-altering medical issues also changed the actress’s opinion on beauty, realizing that true beauty comes from within, as shetold PEOPLElast year.“The happy moments and being happy is what you’re going to see on your deathbed. You’re not going to remember the times when you took that super-cute selfie,” she said.
Emilia Clarkesays she’s missing “quite a bit” of her brain after suffering two aneurysms in 2011 and 2013.
“The amount of my brain that is no longer usable — it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions,” theGame of Thronesalum, 35,told BBC One’sSunday Morningover the weekend. “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”
“There’s quite a bit missing!” she added on the news program. “Which always makes me laugh. “Because strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. And so the blood finds a different route to get around but then whatever bit it’s missing is therefore gone.”
Clarke experienced her first aneurysm, which caused a stroke and a subarachnoid hemorrhage, soon after wrapping up filming on the first season ofGame of Thronesin 2011.
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
That led to brain surgery, and two weeks later, Clarke couldn’t remember her name. “I was suffering from a condition called aphasia, a consequence of the trauma my brain had suffered,” she said ina 2019 essay forThe New Yorker(aphasia is the same diagnosis actor Bruce Willisdisclosedhe had received earlier this year).
For more on Emilia Clarke, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
“In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug,” she wrote. “I asked the medical staff to let me die. My job — my entire dream of what my life would be — centered on language, on communication. Without that, I was lost.”
Thankfully for Clarke, her aphasia was temporary. “I was sent back to the I.C.U. and, after about a week, the aphasia passed,” she wrote. “I was able to speak.”
In 2013, Clarke underwent a second surgery to address another aneurysm that was about to “pop.” Though the surgery was traumatic, with complications, the actress has been able to return to work. She’s currently starring inThe Seagullat London’s Harold Pinter Theatre.
Helen Sloan/HBO
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Clarke has also created a charity,SameYou, to raise money for people recovering from brain injuries and strokes.
The life-altering medical issues also changed the actress’s opinion on beauty, realizing that true beauty comes from within, as shetold PEOPLElast year.
“The happy moments and being happy is what you’re going to see on your deathbed. You’re not going to remember the times when you took that super-cute selfie,” she said.
source: people.com
