Celebrities Whose Lives Were Changed Forever By A Brain Injury

Several celebrities have opened up about what it's like to have a brain injury, its long-term side effects, and its frustration-filled recovery period. By being candid about their experiences with brain injuries, A-listers have shone a light on aspects of them that have largely gone unnoticed by the general public. One such aspect is that traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and non-traumatic brain injuries (NTBIs) are more common than people realize. 

TBI is a term used to describe an injury that occurs when the head violently hits an object. According to 2025 statistics by the Brain Injury Association of America, an estimated 64 million adults in the U.S. have reported that they have had a TBI at some point. Additionally, 11 million Americans aged 40 and over who lost consciousness after a TBI have said that they're living with a disability. On the other hand, NTBIs, or acquired brain injuries, are internal issues such as tumors, aneurysms, and strokes.

When celebrities speak about the aftermath of a TBI, they reveal that the side effects go beyond what most people are aware of. The long-term side effects of a TBI vary based on the level of impact, the amount of time a person was unconscious for, and the area of the brain where the injury occurred. If the injury impacts the frontal lobe, a person can be more prone to engaging in inappropriate or hazardous behaviors. Then, while an injury on the left side of the brain can cause issues with logical reasoning, one on the right side could lead to trouble absorbing visual information and an inability to perform everyday tasks. Based on the experiences of celebrities like Evangeline Lilly and Tracy Morgan, it's clear that a TBI can cause plenty of other long-term changes, too.

In a May 2025 Substack post, Evangeline Lilly revealed that she landed face-first into a boulder at a beach following a fainting spell. While updating fans on her recovery in a June 2025 Instagram video, the "Ant-Man" star wrote that the fall had resulted in a concussion. Lilly explained that she was on bed rest for a couple of days because she had pushed herself past the limits of her injury doing manual labor in Hawaii over the weekend. 

Then, in a January 2026 Instagram update, Lilly revealed that she had suffered brain damage from the TBI and other factors, which she didn't elaborate on. The Marvel alum said that her brain scans showed that "almost every area in [her] brain is functioning at a decreased capacity." Despite everything, she still chose to share a silver lining: "My cognitive decline since I smashed my face open has helped me to slow down and helped me to have a more restful finish to my 2025." 

On a similar note, she wrote that she was ultimately glad to know that her cognitive decline wasn't solely brought on by peri-menopause. In the following months, the "Lost" actor chronicled her recovery in Instagram videos to help others in her shoes. In one Instagram video shared at the end of January, she shared that she was taking numerous supplements that promote brain health, including the antioxidant-promoting N-acetylcysteine and the muscle-energizing creatine. Meanwhile, in another video, she talked about undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a medical treatment in which a patient inhales pure oxygen.

In December 1988, Gary Busey went on a motorcycle ride without wearing a helmet that ended when he crashed the vehicle into sand and his head hit the curb. During a 1989 appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman," the "Point Break" star shared that he had been wheeled into brain surgery shortly after he arrived at a hospital. At the time, doctors had told his family that he had a 98% chance of dying and not making it past the next 48 hours. 

They had even informed Gary's family that he may be mentally and physically incapacitated after the surgery or become a left-sided paraplegic. In August 2019, Gary's son, Jake Busey, told The Hollywood Reporter that the Oscar nominee spent most of his time staring at a wall after the surgery, adding, "At 17, I had to teach him with my mom to talk, to eat, to feed himself. To walk again." While those symptoms bettered with time and therapy, "The Buddy Holly Story" star's personality was never the same because he couldn't censor himself as he did before. "The post-accident version of him turned his personality up to 11," Jake explained. 

While appearing on "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" in January 2014, Gary said that his brain injury also affected his ability to process things, saying, "My brain got altered in a way that's not normal, and I have a different way of looking at things and feeling things." Despite everything, Gary told The Guardian in May 2020 that he didn't wish that the accident had never happened because it ultimately only made him grow as a person.

In a March 2019 piece for The New Yorker, Emilia Clarke recalled how she experienced an acute headache and vomiting during a February 2011 workout session. Thankfully, someone found her and took her to a hospital. After she underwent an MRI, doctors discovered that she had had a life-threatening aneurysm that required urgent surgery. While she was in the early stages of her recovery from the surgery, she became one of the many celebrities who have dealt with aphasia, a language disorder that occurs when the part of the brain that controls communication is damaged. 

When Clarke first developed aphasia, she was unable to even say her name. Thankfully, the disorder's effects greatly reduced as she recovered. A few months later, the "Game of Thrones" star underwent another brain surgery for a second potential aneurysm that was discovered during her first visit to the hospital. After she awoke from that surgery, she was incredibly anxious about whether she would have trouble with concentration, memory, vision, or other important aspect of brain functioning. To her own surprise, she ended up making a full recovery.

During an appearance on BBC's "Sunday Morning" in July 2022, Emilia Clarke revealed that she is "missing" parts of her brain after the aneurysms. Although the "Me Before You" star laughed about not having parts of her brain functioning, she still acknowledged that she is incredibly lucky to have gone through two aneurysms without lasting side effects.

While Amy Grant was riding her bike in July 2022, she hit a pothole, fell, and lost consciousness for about 10 minutes. While appearing on "Today" in March 2023, the Grammy winner shared that the accident resulted in a traumatic brain injury, which in turn affected her memory. There was a time when Grant struggled to remember her family members' names and had to write them in a book. 

In January 2023, she also confessed to E! News that she had trouble remembering the lyrics to her own songs and required a teleprompter while performing. However, she was happy to report that her memory and stamina were both steadily recovering about a year and a half after the accident. Speaking on "The Other 22 Hours" in July 2026, Grant shared that she had undergone testing two years after her accident so that doctors could get a better idea of how she was recovering. 

The results confirmed that she still has difficulty processing information and ultimately validated her frustrations with slow recovery. Giving one example of her mental processing, Grant said, "If somebody says a joke, my mind initially tries to process the literal words that they are saying." Additionally, when she appeared on "The Bobbycast" in July 2026, she shared that she tells people to elaborate on the details of anecdotes involving her so her synapses would fire and she could remember them again. Despite the long-term consequences of her fall, she told E! News that the injury has a silver lining: "It makes life easier to just say the truth of what is."

While Tracy Morgan and three other people were on their way home to New Jersey in June 2014, a Walmart tractor-trailer crashed into their van. The "30 Rock" star's friend Jimmy Mack died in the accident. As for Morgan, he suffered multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury, and was in a coma for two weeks. 

Speaking to ABC News in December 2015, Morgan shared that doctors told his wife that they were unsure whether he would awaken from the coma. When he did eventually wake up, he was blind for a week. Over the next five months, the "SNL" star was in a wheelchair while he recovered. Chatting with The Daily Beast in August 2015, Dr. Brian Greenwald, a doctor who treated Morgan after the accident, said that the comedian was also more easily agitated and had memory issues. During the initial period of the celebrity's recovery from his terrifying accident, he also required assistance to stand and do basic tasks. 

In 2015, Morgan told People that he was working extra hard on physical therapy because he wanted to accompany his then-fiancee, Megan Wollover, down the aisle during their nuptials without the support of a cane or wheelchair. "I am working out now, but physical therapy isn't easy," he explained. "It's a lot of ooch-ing and lot of ouching and screaming, but I am determined." Thanks to all his hard work and determination, Morgan made that dream a reality . In fact, Dr. Greenwald told The Daily Beast that most folks in Morgan's shoes don't bounce back quite like he did.