Did you know these celebrities have suffered a stroke?
At the age of 25, Hailey Bieber (model, actress, wife of Justin Bieber and daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin) suffered a stroke that required only a brief hospitalisation. After that, she was able to recover at home.
Model Hailey Bieber was obviously shaken by the ordeal and the medical experience left her with PTSD and suffering anxiety, according to Page Six. However, she continued: “I look back at it and it could’ve been so much worse... So many worse things could have happened in that moment.”
Strokes like this (usually caused by a ruptured vein or artery within the brain) are common and there are a number of celebrities who have had them - some survived, and some did not. Let's take a look at the list.
The 'Game of Thrones' actress suffered two brain aneurysms during the filming of the hit HBO series. The first was in 2011, just as they finished filming the first season. She was 24 years old. Although it is not clear what was the trigger, Emilia Clarke said that she suffered a lot of stress when playing the role of Daenerys Targaryenen, to the point that she had to resort to a personal trainer to channel that stress.
As she herself recounted in an article published in The New Yorker, and entitled 'A Battle for my Life', during a training session for the series, "I immediately felt as though an elastic band were squeezing my brain" and asked for a break, after which she managed to get to the dressing room. There, she says, "I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill".
Photo: HBO
After that first incident, doctors later detected a second aneurysm, which was diagnosed in 2013, at the age of 27. So she underwent surgery to have it removed at the same time as the Broadway play 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' was being staged. She said she was 'happy to be here' to see the end of this story.
In the New Yorker article, the actress detailed how, during her recovery, she was unable to remember her full name and also suffered from aphasia, which was devastating to her mood: "I am an actor; I need to remember my lines. Now I couldn’t recall my name".
The legendary actress Sharon Stone suffered a stroke in 2001, when she was 43 years old. In her book 'The Beauty of Living Twice' she explains that she suffered a complete rupture of the left cerebral artery, which caused bleeding for days.
In the autobiographical book, the actress explains: "My life changed since then and I became more spiritual". She also details how she had to relearn how to walk, speak, read and write. But she recovered beautifully.
The founder of the Playboy empire, the late Hugh Hefner, also suffered a stroke in 1985, when he was 59. It was a tough time in his life, but he eventually turned the page and made a full recovery.
As he told The New York Times in an interview long after his stroke, at the age of 82: "I had a stroke in 1985 and if I had died, then my life would have been more typical. But I survived, remarried and found a whole generation waiting for me to play". Hefner eventually passed away from cardiac arrest in 2017.
The American actress and singer suffered a heart attack and three strokes as a result of substance abuse. She was hospitalised in 2018 and nearly lost her life. She was 26 years old at the time...
In the documentary 'Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil', which deals precisely with this event she experienced in 2018, the artist explains that "The doctors said I only had 5 or 10 minutes more to live" and assures that "I was left with brain damage and I'm still dealing with the effects. I can't drive cars because I have blind spots in my vision. Also, for a long time I couldn't read.
That life experience, in which the stroke did not come by chance, made her reflect after she managed to overcome it. "I'm thankful for those reminders, but but I'm so grateful that I was someone that didn't have to do a lot of rehabbing," she said.. I'm very proud of the person I am now," she says in the documentary.
The actor, known for his role in 'Malcolm in the Middle', suffered a small stroke on 30 November 2012, he revealed on his Twitter account. Muniz had to be admitted to an Arizona hospital after experiencing problems with his speech and "acting strange", TMZ reported. In an interview with People, he said: "“I was in the hospital last Friday. I suffered a ‘mini stroke’, which was not fun at all. Have to start taking care of my body! Getting old!”
Less than a year after that small stroke, which turned out to be a transient cerebral ischaemia, Frankie Muniz suffered a second stroke. He again took to his Twitter account where he wrote: "Almost a year to the day, I had another stroke. I hope it's my last. Miserable.
In 2001, at the age of 68, Jean Paul Belmondo had a stroke while on holiday in Corsica. As a result of that stroke, the actor suffered paralysis on the right side of his body, including his face.
The stroke forced Belmondo to withdraw from acting for six months, during which the effects of the stroke caused speech problems. Fortunately, he recovered from it, albeit with after-effects. "It's me, no special effects. I hope to be an example to many," he said in an interview in The New York Times in 2009.
Luke Perry, the legendary Dylan from 'Beverly Hills, 90210', could not overcome the stroke he suffered in 2019. The actor suffered a massive stroke at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, from where he was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank.
Doctors kept Luke Perry sedated and under observation for several days, but in the end nothing could be done to save his life and he died at the age of 52. His representative, Arnold Robinson, told the media that the actor had the support of his children, his mother, his wife and his friends during this terrible ordeal.
The acting wunderkind, who rose to fame as Arnold in the series of Different Strokes, died in 2010 at the age of 42 after several days in serious condition in a Utah hospital following a brain haemorrhage.
Coleman's life was always influenced by his health. He was vilified because of his short stature caused by nephritis, but it was not kidney disease that ended his life, instead it was a stroke. It was in a year, which he had to be admitted to hospital on two other occasions for stroke-related problems.
The Anglo-French singer and actress suffered "a slight stroke" in 2021 at the age of 74. That huge scare forced her to cancel her appearance at two film festivals in France.
Birkin's stroke was minor and the press was quickly assured that she was well. Her family's spokesperson issued a statement saying: "Her family would like her recuperation to be given the peace of mind it requires. Jane is looking forward to reconnecting with her audience.
Prince Joachim of Denmark, the youngest son of Queen Margrethe II, revealed in 2021 that his wife, Princess Marie, saved his life the previous year when he suffered a brain clot at a family dinner in the south of France in the summer months, from which he recovered safely after undergoing surgery.
In an interview with Danish television station DR, Prince Joachim said: "It has not only affected my fitness, or me. My wife, my children and my family in general, too. It was a hard physical blow for everyone, so they were also part of the healing, no doubt". But he also stressed: "I've decided to take it all in my stride, I won't think about the future anymore. We will enjoy living in the moment. We always look forward, because there will always be something exciting behind the next peak.
On 16 May 2010, the singer Gustavo Cerati, considered one of the most influential and renowned Ibero-American rock musicians and a legend of Latin American rock, collapsed during a concert in Caracas. The Argentinian musician had suffered a stroke due to a blockage of the left internal carotid artery.
A ventilator kept Gustavo Cerati's heart alive for four years, but on 4 September 2014 he died at the age of 56. That long period was caused by a stroke. His brain had swollen so much that it was pressing against his skull and he had to undergo emergency surgery, but after going into a coma, he never woke up again.
The soprano had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona in 2012 at the age of 79, after suffering a "very mild" stroke while on tour in Russia, which caused her to suffer a dizzy spell, causing her to fall and break her humerus.
As a result of that stroke, the singer had to cancel all her immediate professional engagements, but she could be seen on stage again just a month later, at the 'Voices for Hope' charity concert.
The legendary American athlete who was the world record holder in the 200m and 400m sprints suffered a transient ischaemic attack - a small stroke - in early September 2018, for which he was forced to undergo rehabilitation after temporarily suffering paralysis in various parts of his body.
"One year ago today I was unable to walk having suffered a stroke," he wrote on his Twitter account, where he confessed that "The doctors told me that only time would tell if and to what degree I would recover. It has been a journey of many emotions: confusion, anger, anxiety, fear, positivity and vulnerability.
The Spanish cyclist, winner of two Tour de France, suffered a stroke while preparing for this very race in 2004, when he was only 21 years old. He was riding with the peloton in the Tour of Asturias when a visual disturbance forced him to fall. Once on the ground, he began to convulse and had to be rushed to the hospital in Oviedo, where a cerebral haemorrhage was detected.
Contador was diagnosed with a congenital brain malformation that had caused the haemorrhage and underwent emergency surgery to evacuate the clot that had already formed. That quick intervention saved his life and was decisive in his speedy and full recovery.
Cristiano Ronaldo's mother had to be admitted to the Doctor Nelio de Mendonça Hospital in Funchal in the intensive care unit after suffering a stroke. She returned home after three weeks in hospital and said of that terrible experience that "they have been hard days, of struggles and victories".
Mexican actress Marlene Favela told journalist Mara Patricia Castañeda in an interview that she spent three weeks in intensive care due to a stroke. She revealed that she was on the verge of death after suffering this episode on a flight from Mexico to Miami, which led to her being hospitalised in intensive care and being forced to undergo brain surgery.