Evangeline Lilly Diagnosed with Brain Damage After Fall

Evangeline Lilly, the actress known for her roles in the television series Lost and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, announced on January 1, 2026, that she has been diagnosed with brain damage following a fall on a Hawaii beach eight months earlier. In a video posted to her Instagram account, the 46-year-old shared results from a recent brain scan, revealing decreased function in nearly every area of her brain due to the traumatic brain injury she sustained.

Lilly, who was vacationing in Hawaii in May 2025, described fainting while walking on the beach and falling face-first into a boulder. The incident left her with a puncture wound above her lip, bruises, and cuts on her nose and chin, requiring hospital treatment. She posted photos of her injuries on her Substack at the time, noting that medical staff focused on investigating the cause of her blackout alongside stitching the wound. "I fainted at the beach and fell face first into a boulder," she wrote then. In a follow-up post in June 2025, Lilly reported a setback in her recovery after overexerting herself in the heat, which forced her back to bed rest.

The actress has experienced fainting spells since childhood, initially...