Anyone who has watched the series Game of Thrones would have seen Emilia Clarke’s headstrong character, Daenerys Targaryen. Clarke’s performance in the show helped her rise to fame. But did you know that Clarke suffered from two aneurysms?
Emilia Clarke survived two brain aneurysms in 2011 and has since then founded the Organization “SameYou.” The charity organization works hard to develop a better recovery treatment for brain injury survivors.
Who is Emilia Clarke?
Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke was born in London on October 23, 1986. She was raised in London with her older brother Bennett. Peter Clarke, their father, was a sound engineer for a local theatre. Their mother, Jennifer, was a businesswoman and is the vice president of marketing at a global management consultancy.
Clarke started taking an interest in acting at the young age of three when she first saw the musical Show Boat. Her father would bring her to shows and auditions growing up. She attended boarding schools, Rye St Antony School in Headington, and then moved to St Edward’s School in Oxford. Clarke acted in theater while she was in St Edwards. She appeared in student productions of West Side Story and Twelfth Night.
After graduation, she applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Unfortunately, she was not accepted into their programs. She worked and traveled before starting at the Drama Centre London and graduated in 2009.
Before her debut as Daenerys Targaryen, Clarke appeared in commercials, a soap opera, and a film called Triassic Attack. The Game of Thrones series launched her international career. (Source: Rolling Stone)
What Led to the Opening of a Charity Organization?
Back in February 2011, Clarke suffered from a subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm. She went through an emergency endovascular coiling surgery. After the procedure, she suffered from aphasia and was even unable to recall her own name at one point. In 2013, she had another aneurysm treated.
Due to this experience, Clarke decided to start the SameYou organization.
1 in 3 people will suffer a brain injury in their lifetime. That number is huge. It’s almost double the number of people who will develop dementia. It’s shocking to me – and you too, probably – that such a common health problem is so little known and barely spoken about. I made a full recovery but many more people don’t, and I want to break the silence on this common, silent and devastating condition.
Emilia Clarke, SameYou
(Source: The New Yorker)
The SameYou organization is a charity group that provides better recovery treatment for individuals who survived brain injuries or strokes but don’t have options for rehabilitation after their surgery. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), rehabilitation is essential but not readily available or integrated with primary healthcare. In fact, neurorehabilitation is one of the most neglected and underfunded. The Stroke Association reported that about 45% of stroke survivors feel abandoned after leaving the hospital. (Source: SameYou)