Celebrity News January 05, 2026
Evangeline Lilly Reveals She Has Brain Damage After Suffering Traumatic Injury
Instagram
Evangeline Lilly, 46, started the new year with some news about her health.
The actress took to Instagram to update fans on her brain scans after she fainted on the beach in May and hit her head on a boulder.
She wrote on Instagram, "Verdict's in...I do have brain damage from my tbi [traumatic brain injury]. Comforting to know my cognitive decline isn't just peri-menopause, discomforting to know what an uphill battle it will be to try to reverse the deficiencies."
Lilly added, "Thank you all for always asking, for always caring, and for your continued prayers 🌺.”
In a video, she went on, “I am entering into this new year, the year of the horse, with some bad news about my concussion.”
Instagram
She said many had asked about how she’s doing and about her brain scans, continuing, “The results came back from the scans and almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity. So, I do have brain damage from the TBI and possibly other factors going on.”
Now, she plans to work with doctors “to get to the bottom of that” and then “embark on the hard work of fixing it.”
Evangeline went on, “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. I think this was my calmest most restful Christmas holiday I’ve had maybe since I’ve had children.”
The “Lost” star ended by saying, “Feeling extraordinary grateful and blessed to be able to play one more day and one more year on this beautiful living planet and that is my concussion update. Thank you all for caring.”
Back in May, Evangeline posted photos on Instagram and wrote about her injury on Substack.
At the time, she shared, "I fainted at the beach. And fell face first into a boulder.”
She went on to explain that she had suffered from “fainting spells” and “blackouts” for years, but doctors had struggled to diagnose the cause.