Emilia Clarke

Emilia Clarke is a British actress who recieved her international fame for her character as Daenerys Targaryen in HBOs television series GAME OF THRONES.

Emilia was voted the most desirable woman in the world by AskMen readers in 2014.

She studied at the Drama Centre London, appearing in a number of stage productions, including one by the Company of Angels. After making her screen debut in a short film, her television debut came with a guest appearance in an episode of the British medical soap opera Doctors in 2009. The following year, she was named as one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International magazine for her role in the Syfy film Triassic Attack (2010).

Clarke rose to international prominence for her breakthrough role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019). The role has garnered her critical acclaim and several accolades, including three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Clarke made her Broadway debut as Holly Golightly in a production of Breakfast at Tiffany's in 2013. Her film roles include Sarah Connor in the science fiction film Terminator Genisys (2015), Louisa Clark in the romance film Me Before You (2016), and Qi'ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.

Emilia opened up suffering two brain aneurysms – sharing never-before-seen pictures of when she was hospitalised.

The British actress suffered the ordeal in 2011 when she was 24 – the same year the first season of Game of Thrones began – and at her lowest she asked medical staff to “let me die.”

She said: “The diagnosis was quick and ominous: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a life-threatening type of stroke, caused by bleeding into the space surrounding the brain.

“I’d had an aneurysm, an arterial rupture. As I later learned, about a third of SAH patients die immediately or soon thereafter.”

Emilia also revealed how she also suffered from aphasia as a consequence of the brain trauma, adding: “In my worst moments, I wanted to pull the plug. I asked the medical staff to let me die.”

She revealed during her chat: “With the second [aneurysm], there was a bit of my brain that actually died.

“If a part of your brain doesn’t get blood to it for a minute, it will just no longer work, it’s like, you short circuit.

“So I had that, and they didn’t know what it was. So they literally were looking at my brain going ‘well we think it could be her concentration, it could be her peripheral vision.'”

Since her rise to prominence, Clarke has contributed time and effort to a variety of charitable organisations.

In September 2011, she joined SMA Trust team as their celebrity ambassador. In August 2017, she became a patron of Open Door, a non-profit that aims to help young people gain access to drama school auditions. She auctioned a chance to watch an episode of Game of Thrones with her at the 2018 Sean Penn Charity Gala, which raised over $120,000 benefiting the J/P HRO & Disaster Relief Organizations. In February 2018, she appeared at London's Centrepoint Awards, which celebrates the courage shown by homeless young people. In April 2018, she was named ambassador to the Royal College of Nursing.

In 2019, following the announcement of the brain aneurysms she suffered in 2011 and 2013, Clarke launched SameYou. The charity aims to broaden neurorehabilitation access for young people after a brain injury or stroke.

Clarke has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards and six Screen Actor Guild Awards. As of 2018, she has won ten awards from 29 nominations.