Emilia Clarke Couldn't Look At Herself In The Mirror After Brain Aneurysms

EN Star Style - Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke struggled to look at her own reflection after battling two brain aneurysms.

The actress, who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the fantasy drama, had to work to repair her self-confidence after the health ordeal at the age of 24, revealing it wasn't until she shifted her idea of beauty that she was able to recover.

"After my operations, I didn’t want to look at my own face," she told Stylist. "I don’t normally, but all my emotions were heightened. When I looked in the mirror, I just saw pain in my eyes.
I found it very, very difficult. I used to put on make-up without looking in the mirror, which probably made me look a lot worse."

She added, "My face didn’t change, but my feelings about myself changed. When you can look at yourself in the eyes and feel OK with what’s looking back at you, then what more do you need?"

The Brit first detailed her health battle in March (19), writing a candid essay for The New Yorker, in which she revealed she thought she would lose her ability to communicate and be forced to quit the hit show.

"My job - my entire dream of what my life would be - centred on language, around communication (and) without that, I was lost," Clarke wrote.

The 32 year old's darkest moment came after enduring the second of two surgeries, which left her "screaming in pain".

"The procedure had failed. I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again," she noted, "I do remember being convinced that I wasn’t going to live."

Thankfully, Clarke has made a full recovery and credits the support of friends and family for helping her through the difficult time.

"In the years since my second surgery, I have healed beyond my most unreasonable hopes," she reveals. "I feel endless gratitude - to my mum and brother, to my doctors and nurses, to my friends."