Marvel franchise actress Evangeline Lilly has revealed that she is suffering from the effects of a traumatic brain injury following a fall several months ago in Hawaii.
In a video posted to Instagram, Lilly told followers that she recently learned through a scan that “almost every area of my brain is functioning at reduced capacity.” In the caption, she wrote that she found it “comforting” to know that the symptoms she was experiencing were not related to perimenopause, as she apparently believed.
The next step is to start working with doctors to solve the problem, said Lilly, who starred in the ABC drama “Lost” before signing on for Marvel films.
“My cognitive decline since cutting my face in has helped me slow down and end 2025 more calmly,” Lilly said. “I think this was the calmest, most relaxing Christmas holiday I’ve had possibly since I had children, which was 14 years ago.”
Lilly's injury stemmed from an incident in May when she passed out on the beach and “fell face first on a boulder,” as she described it in her article. Essay on Substack at the time. The Ant-Man and the Wasp star wrote that she immediately went to the hospital after this, where her tests turned out to be normal.
According to Lilly's account of the incident, medical staff at the time were more concerned about the cause of her “memory loss” than about the injury to her face.
“I have had periods of absence and fainting spells since I was a little girl,” Lilly wrote. “Doctors tested me for epilepsy when I was young and then concluded it was hypoglycemia (without doing any testing).”
Hypoglycemia was ruled out later in her life, Lilly said, adding that there was still no explanation for the fainting spells and that they would remain “unknown” in life.
She also said the fall “made” her freeze after a turbulent period in her life.
“It may seem crazy to look at my face and broken tooth, but I'm so grateful I passed out,” Lilly wrote. “I needed a reboot.”
