Evangeline Lilly Reveals Brain Damage From Beach Accident
The former Marvel actress opens up about lasting cognitive effects from a traumatic head injury she suffered after fainting and hitting a boulder during a beach visit in 2024.
Former Marvel star Evangeline Lilly disclosed she sustained brain damage after a severe head trauma during a beach accident in May 2024. The Canadian actress, known for roles in Lost, The Hobbit trilogy, and Ant-Man films, posted the health update on Instagram January 3rd.
Lilly collapsed and struck her face against a boulder after fainting on the beach. The incident left her with a concussion that continues affecting her daily life. Recent medical scans delivered troubling results about her condition.
Scan Results Show Widespread Impact
"Almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity," Lilly explained in her social media post. She confirmed doctors found evidence of brain damage from the traumatic brain injury, possibly combined with other medical factors.
"So I do have brain damage from the TBI and possibly other factors going on," she stated. "But now my job is to get to the bottom of that with doctors and then embark on the hard work of fixing it, which I don't look forward to because I feel like hard work is all I do."
Accident Details and Recovery Process
The actress described the frightening moment when she regained consciousness. "I pull my face from the sand and take a breath. My mouth and nose are full of blood," she wrote on Substack about the incident.
Lilly revealed she's experienced fainting episodes since childhood. She believes these blackouts happen when her "little soul" reaches emotional limits and "leaves the building." Despite the challenging diagnosis, she expressed acceptance about her rehabilitation journey.
Career Hiatus and New Focus
The cognitive changes forced Lilly to slow down, creating what she called "a more restful finish to my 2025." She hasn't appeared in films for three years since stepping away from Hollywood after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023.
Last June, Lilly told Variety she wasn't planning to return to acting. Instead, she's "devoting my time to my humanitarian work and my writing." The brain injury seems to have reinforced her decision to prioritize different life goals over her entertainment career.