Emilia Clarke, who survived two brain surgeries while filming the globally popular series Game of Thrones, has revealed that for years she felt as if she had cheated death. The actress, honored at Variety's Power of Women London event presented by Lifetime, shared how the health scare led her to establish the charity SameYou in 2019 alongside her mother.
During her speech, Clarke said, 'For a number of years, I felt that I had cheated death, and it was coming to get me. I truly felt like I had done something wrong, and I shouldn't be here. I also thought it ruined my ability to act — which some people might agree with.'
The Game of Thrones star first opened up about her health struggles in 2019 and was overwhelmed by the response from people who reached out to her. 'Today we have tens of thousands of survivors in our community saying essentially the same thing: the journey to healing feels like falling off the edge of a cliff without anyone there to catch you,' she added.
Clarke was honored alongside Emma Corrin, Hannah Waddingham, Suki Waterhouse, and Cynthia Erivo at the event. In past interviews, she detailed undergoing two life-saving brain operations in 2011 and 2013 to treat aneurysms. Her role as the dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones catapulted her to global fame.
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