A household name – Emilia Clarke has played so many career defining roles. She has been the powerful Daenerys Targaryen for eight seasons on ‘Game of Thrones’; she has made us smile and moved us to tears as Louisa Clark in ‘Me Before You’, and was Sarah Connor in the action packed ‘Terminator Genisys’. Little did we know that behind her successful public persona and ever-smiling face, lay a serious battle with her health.
Born on May 1, 1987 in London, England, even as a toddler Emilia knew that she wanted to be an actor. After attending secondary school, she enrolled in the renowned Drama Centre London. She appeared in several small television roles. A struggling actor, she worked multiple jobs to make ends meet…until ‘Game of Thrones’ rolled in and changed her life and career forever.
Suddenly thrust in the limelight, Emilia was exposed to the stresses of a busy actor’s life. Not only was she spending long hours on set, she was also jetting off to do press junkets around the world and working out in her free time.
In March 2019, in an essay penned for ‘The New Yorker’, Emilia described the harrowing story of her two brain aneurysms, experiences that had her staring in the face of death. The first one was diagnosed in February 2011, just after she had completed filming the first season of ‘Game of Thrones’. She was working out when she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her head and was rushed to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). At just 24 years old, she had her first brain surgery to seal off the aneurysm. When leaving the hospital, she was informed that there was a smaller aneurysm on the other side of her brain that needed to be monitored carefully.
Apart from experiencing terrible pain and fatigue during her recovery, her health condition filled her with debilitating fear. Every day, while she worked, she thought constantly that she was going to die!
In 2013, during a routine brain scan, doctors found that the second aneurysm needed taking care of. The procedure was to be simpler that the first. But the procedure failed and she had a massive bleed that needed another surgery to fix. She left the operation theatre with parts of her skull replaced by titanium, a scar that runs from her ear to her scalp, and fear of losing her memory or cognition. Her recovery was filled with panic and dread. She had always thought of herself as healthy. But there she was, in her 20s, battling for her life.
Despite her worst fears, she healed. Her health improved beyond her expectations, and in pure gratitude she put her time and energy into creating SameYou, a charity that aims to provide treatment to people recovering from strokes and brain injuries. She lives in full understanding of how lucky she is to be healthy despite having two brain aneurysms, and intends to live life to the fullest and healthiest.
Emilia Clarke will be seen in the upcoming holiday flick ‘Last Christmas’ opposite Henry Golding. And we’re hoping to have her healthy and well, for we can’t get enough of her on the big screen!