Emilia Clarke, best known for her role in 'Game of Thrones', has spoken movingly about surviving two brain haemorrhages in her 20s, describing the aftermath as feeling like 'falling off the edge of a cliff without anyone there to catch you'. The actress was speaking at Variety's Power of Women London event, where she was honoured for her charity work.
Clarke, now 37, revealed that she ignored symptoms such as extreme fatigue, anxiety, and blackouts after her brain injuries, attributing them to stress and her demanding work schedule. 'I never had the chance to reflect on what my two brain traumas had done to me because I could walk, talk, be myself, remember my lines and was back on camera within weeks of both brain injuries,' she said.
In 2019, Clarke and her mother Jenny founded the charity SameYou to support brain injury survivors. The charity aims to address what Clarke calls a 'universal crisis' in aftercare. 'One in three people will suffer a brain injury at some point in their lives,' she noted. 'The combined number of people currently living with the life-changing consequences of stroke and traumatic brain injury in the UK and the US is more than 15 million people alone.'
Clarke shared that she initially felt she had 'cheated death' and that it was 'coming to get me'. She also worried that the haemorrhages had ruined her acting ability. However, she now emphasises the importance of recovery: 'Recovery is as important as survival.'
SameYou has built a community of tens of thousands of survivors who report similar struggles. Clarke urged greater focus and funding for brain injury aftercare, calling it 'one of the biggest gaps in health and social care systems, wherever you live'.
