Evangeline Lilly has shared a tough update about her recovery after a traumatic brain injury in May 2025.
In a video posted to Instagram on January 2, the 46-year-old actress said brain scans show reduced function in “almost every area” of her brain. She told followers the results point to lasting damage from her concussion. Her next step, she said, is to work with doctors to understand the cause of the deficits and begin treatment.
Lilly admitted the news is frightening, but also gives her answers. She said she had worried her symptoms might be linked to perimenopause, so the scan results helped explain why she has felt a decline in memory and thinking. Even so, she described the path ahead as difficult and said the idea of more recovery work feels overwhelming.
The injury happened during a beach day in May 2025, when Lilly blacked out and fell face-first into a boulder. She previously said she knocked out a tooth, bloodied her nose, and suffered a serious concussion. At the time, she wrote that despite how it looked, she felt grateful — calling the incident the “reset” she needed.
The cause of her blackout has not been publicly confirmed. Lilly has said she experienced fainting and “absent” spells as a child. Doctors once considered epilepsy and later suspected hypoglycemia, but she said later blood tests did not support low blood sugar as the cause. She added that even after further medical testing, no clear explanation has been found.