The Evangeline Lilly actress explained in a new Instagram video that she fainted on a beach in Hawaii in May 2025 and fell face-first into a boulder, hitting her head. She said recent medical scans show that she experienced a traumatic brain injury, also known as a TBI.
“It’s late on January 1, the first day of 2026,” Lilly said in the video. She explained that many fans had asked how she was doing and what doctors found in her brain scans. According to Lilly, the results were not good news.
She said that “almost every area” of her brain is now working at a lower level than normal. “So I do have brain damage from the TBI, and possibly other factors going on,” she shared.
Lilly said her focus now is on understanding exactly what is happening and working closely with doctors on her recovery. While she admitted she is not excited about the hard work ahead, she said she is ready to face it.
The actress, best known for her roles in Ant-Man and the Wasp and the TV series Lost, also spoke about an unexpected change the injury has brought to her life. She said the cognitive slowdown forced her to rest more and slow down.
“My cognitive decline since I smashed my face open has helped me to slow down,” Lilly said. She added that the end of 2025 was the calmest and most restful holiday season she has had in many years, calling that a small positive.
Despite the diagnosis, Lilly ended her message on a hopeful note. She said she feels grateful to still be here and able to live another year on what she described as a “beautiful living planet.”
Lilly first spoke publicly about the accident in a Substack post shortly after it happened. She wrote that doctors were more focused on figuring out why she fainted than on treating the injury to her face. She explained that she has had fainting spells since childhood, but doctors have never found a clear cause.
At different points, doctors suspected low blood sugar, but later testing ruled that out. Lilly said the cause of her blackouts is still unknown, though she has her own personal belief that stress and emotional overload may play a role.
The Real Steel actress previously announced in June 2024 that she was stepping away from Hollywood. Her last film appearance was in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, released in 2023.
For now, Lilly says her priority is healing, slowing down, and taking life one day at a time.
Tags:
News
