When millions watched Emilia Clarke rise to global fame as Daenerys Targaryen, the actress was quietly fighting a battle far more terrifying than anything in Westeros.
Speaking at Variety’s Power of Women Londonevent, Clarke reflected on surviving two brain hemorrhages in her early 20s – and the emotional aftermath that followed.
“For a number of years, I felt that I had cheated death, and it was coming to get me,” Clarke admitted. “I truly felt like I had done something wrong, and I shouldn’t be here.”
The actress revealed the first brain bleed happened at 22, shortly after filming the first season of Game of Thrones. A second followed when she was 24, the same year she made her Broadway debut.
Despite returning to work within weeks, Clarke says the real impact lingered beneath the surface.
“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 explained.
For years, she brushed off symptoms as stress, joking, “Surely that’s normal working in our image-obsessed industry? Breaking a rib after filming a sex scene? Well, maybe that was his fault.”
Now, through the charity SameYou, which she founded with her mother in 2019, Clarke is helping others navigate recovery and mental health challenges after brain injuries.
Her message is simple but powerful.
“Because when you think about who you are—your personality, your intellect, your humor, your memories, your excellent taste—where do they live? Your mind.”
And while recovery can feel impossible, Clarke wants survivors to know one thing: “But we know that the recovery to yourself is possible.”
2026-06-05 10:57:00
