Ant-Man actress Evangeline Lilly reveals she has brain damage after hitting her head on rock

Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly posted a devastating health update where she announced she has brain damage, months after she suffered a concussion when she fainted and fell face-first into a boulder at a beach in Hawaii in May 2025.

In a video uploaded to Instagram on Jan 2, the 46-year-old said: “It’s late on Jan 1. The first day of 2026. And I’m entering this new year, the Year of the Horse, with some bad news about my concussion.”

The actress, who played superhero scientist Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Ant-Man superhero film trilogy (2015 to 2023) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), said she received results from her brain scans and “almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity”.

“So, I do have brain damage from the TBI (traumatic brain injury), and possibly other factors going on,” she added.

“Now, my job is to get to the bottom of that with the doctors and then embark on the hard work of fixing it, which I don’t look forward to because I feel like hard work is all I do.

“But that’s okay. 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.

“Feeling extraordinarily grateful and blessed to be able to play one more day, one more year on this beautiful living planet,” she said, before thanking her followers for caring.

Lilly, who has two children aged 14 and 10 with her production-assistant partner Norman Kali, first revealed her injury in a blog post on digital publishing platform Substack in May 2025.

Posting photos of her bloodied face, she explained how she had experienced fainting spells since she was a child, with doctors initially believing it was due to hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar, which was later ruled out.

The star, who is also known for her roles in TV series Lost (2004 to 2010) and The Hobbit films (2013 to 2014), updated in an Instagram post in June 2025 that her concussion had taken a downturn.

Several of Lilly’s celebrity friends, including her Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, commented on Lilly’s recent Instagram post.

“You are a warrior. Nothing – not even this will defeat you my friend,” wrote the 67-year-old American actress, adding a heart emoji.

“Thanks, Mama,” replied Lilly, who played Pfeiffer’s on-screen daughter in the Marvel franchise.