Ant-Man actor Evangeline Lilly reveals brain damage diagnosis after Hawaii fall, says recovery will be ‘hard work'

Evangeline Lilly has revealed she has been diagnosed with brain damage following an accident in Hawaii, telling fans that almost every area of her brain is now functioning at a reduced capacity.

Ant-Man star Evangeline Lilly reveals her brain damage diagnosis

The 46-year-old actor, best known for her roles in ‘Lost’ and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared the update in a video posted to Instagram this week. The injury stems from an incident that occurred in May last year while she was on holiday in Hawaii, where ‘Lost’ was famously filmed between 2004 and 2010.

Lilly explained that she fainted on a beach and fell head first into a boulder, suffering facial injuries that required stitches. Months later, medical scans have revealed the longer-term neurological impact of the fall.

Speaking in the video, she said: “It’s late on January 1st. The first day of 2026. I’m entering into this new year, the year of the horse, with some bad news about my concussion.

“A lot of you have asked how I’m doing. A lot of you have enquired about the brain scan that you heard I got. The results came back from the scan, and almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity.”

She continued: “I do have brain damage from the TBI (traumatic brain injury) and possibly other factors going on. My job now is to get to the bottom of that with my doctors.

“Then I’ll embark on the hard work of fixing it, which I’m not looking forward to – I feel like hard work is all I do. But that’s OK. My cognitive decline is because I smashed my face open [but] it’s helped me to slow down.”

Lilly said the injury has forced her to reassess her pace of life and her relationship with work, adding that it resulted in “the most restful Christmas holiday” she has had since becoming a mother. The actor has two sons, born in 2011 and 2015.

Despite the diagnosis, she struck a note of gratitude. “‘I’m still feeling extraordinarily grateful and blessed to be able to play for one more day, one more year on this beautiful living planet,” she concluded. “So, that is my concussion update. Thank you all for caring.”

Lilly first detailed the accident publicly in May last year in a Substack post, sharing photographs of her injuries. The images showed stitches between her nose and lip, along with cuts to her chin.

“I fainted at the beach. And fell face first into a boulder,” she wrote. “At the hospital, the nurses and doctor went straight into action, more determined to find the cause of my blackout than to stitch up the hole punctured into my face by the rock. I smiled wryly at them. ‘You won’t find anything.’ I said with a woozy voice.”

In the same post, Lilly explained that she has experienced fainting spells since childhood and has been diagnosed with hypoglycaemia, a condition linked to low blood sugar.

More about Evangeline Lilly

Born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Lilly worked as a flight attendant and model before her breakthrough role on ‘Lost’. Cast as Kate Austen, a fugitive with a complex past, she became one of the show’s central figures and appeared in all six seasons. The series was a global phenomenon and ran for 121 episodes, earning Lilly a Golden Globe nomination and establishing her as an international star.

Following ‘Lost’, she took on film roles including ‘The Hurt Locker’, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the fantasy epic ‘The Hobbit’, where she played Tauriel across two films. Lilly later joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hope van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, appearing in ‘Ant-Man’, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’.

Alongside her acting career, Lilly has also worked as an author, publishing a series of children’s books, and has spoken openly in the past about stepping back from Hollywood to focus on family and personal priorities.

Her latest health update has prompted an outpouring of support from fans and colleagues, as the actor prepares for what she has described as the difficult work of recovery while reassessing how she moves forward, both personally and professionally.