Evangeline Lilly, the 46-year-old actress best known for portraying Hope Van Dyne in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp franchise, has disclosed that she is suffering from brain damage following a serious accident.
The Canadian performer, who also starred as Kate Austen throughout all six series of the hit 2000s drama Lost, shared the concerning health update with followers on Thursday evening via Instagram.
The injury occurred during a visit to Hawaii in 2025, when Lilly lost consciousness without warning and struck her head against a boulder. The fall resulted in significant facial injuries, including visible bruising and scarring.
However, the lasting consequences have proven far more serious than the initial physical wounds suggested.
Evangeline Lilly's injury occurred during a visit to Hawaii in 2025
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In a video message recorded on the evening of January 1, Ms Lilly revealed the troubling findings from her recent brain scan.
"The results came back from the scan, and almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity," she told her audience.
The actress confirmed she has sustained brain damage as a result of the traumatic brain injury, though she noted there may be additional contributing factors that require investigation.
"I do have brain damage from the TBI and possibly other factors going on," she explained. "My job now is to get to the bottom of that with my doctors."
Evangeline Lilly portrayed Hope Van Dyne in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp franchise
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Ms Lilly acknowledged that rehabilitation lies ahead, describing the prospect of treatment as daunting but necessary.
"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 okay," she said.
Despite the grim diagnosis, Ms Lilly reflected on an unexpected silver lining from her ordeal.
"My cognitive decline is because I smashed my face open [but] it's helped me to slow down," she shared.
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Evangeline Lilly is best known for her role on hit series Lost from 2004 to 2010
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The enforced rest period allowed her to experience what she described as her most peaceful festive season in over a decade.
"I think this was the most restful Christmas holiday I've had, maybe, since I've had children. So, 14 years ago that's a good thing," she remarked.
Ms Lilly expressed continued gratitude for her life, telling fans: "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."
The original incident took place in May 2025, when Lilly first disclosed that she had suddenly blacked out whilst in Hawaii.
At the time, she shared images revealing severe scarring around her nose and mouth from the impact.
The accident forced her to withdraw from a number of scheduled media commitments. Lilly also admitted that fainting episodes had affected her since she was a child.
The actress rose to prominence playing Kate Austen in Lost, the American drama that aired from 2004 to 2010 and earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
Beyond her four appearances as the Wasp in Marvel productions, she portrayed the elf Tauriel in two instalments of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy: The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies.