Emilia Clarke opened up about surviving two brain hemorrhages at Variety’s Power of Women London event on June 3, telling the audience that “recovery is as important as survival” in her emotional acceptance speech.
Quick Facts
- Clarke suffered brain hemorrhages at ages 22 (2011) and 24 (2013) while filming Game of Thrones
- She kept the health crises private until publicly sharing her story in 2019
- She founded the charity SameYou in 2019 with her mother to support brain injury recovery
- Clarke recently completed a recovery journey with neuroscientist David Putrino at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York
The Game of Thrones actress described how she ignored serious symptoms for years after the hemorrhages, attributing extreme fatigue, hormonal issues, anxiety, and even fainting episodes to stress and her demanding work schedule. “I thought I had been fixed,” she said in her speech. “So did my doctors. None of us could see the pattern, so I blamed myself.”
Clarke emphasized that brain injury recovery is far more complex than most people understand. She noted that while doctors had saved her life by stopping the bleeding and removing clots, the long-term psychological, cognitive, and physical consequences went largely unaddressed. “When everyone around you thinks you look fine, they treat you as though you are,” she reflected.
Emilia Clarke opens up about surviving 2 brain hemorrhages at Variety Power of Women London
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The actress founded SameYou after discovering that thousands of survivors faced similar struggles. “Today we have tens of thousands of survivors in our community saying essentially the same thing: the journey to healing feels like falling off the edge of a cliff without anyone there to catch you,” she said at the event. The charity’s name reflects her mission to help people return to who they were before their brain trauma.
In her recent recovery work with Mount Sinai’s David Putrino, Clarke said she has regained “the energy and positivity I had in my twenties.” She credited this breakthrough to proper neurological rehabilitation and support, underscoring her message that recovery deserves the same priority as survival in healthcare systems.
Sources
- Variety — Full text of Clarke’s Power of Women London speech, quotes, and details about her brain hemorrhages and founding of SameYou
- CNN — Clarke’s recovery journey, the two hemorrhages (2011 and 2013), her work with David Putrino at Mount Sinai, and details of her speech at the event
