Gal Gadot is known for playing the most powerful woman in the universe, but the actress just revealed that her toughest battle didn’t happen on a movie set—it happened in a hospital ward.
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, the -year-old Snow White star left host Jimmy Fallon and the audience stunned as she detailed a “medical horror story” that occurred while she was pregnant with her fourth daughter, Ori. Gadot revealed that she spent three weeks walking around with a “ticking time bomb” in her skull: three massive, undetected brain clots.
“I realized for the first time what it actually means to be scared to death,” Gadot confessed, dropping the usual Hollywood polish to share the raw reality of her brush with mortality.
The nightmare began with agonizing headaches that completely incapacitated the star. However, despite her A-list status, Gadot says she faced a “medical merry-go-round” where specialists repeatedly dismissed her pain as simple migraines or pregnancy hormones.
“Imagine being Wonder Woman and having doctors tell you that three brain clots are just a headache,” one fan reacted on X (formerly Twitter). “Absolute insanity.”
The situation reached a breaking point when Gadot’s mother stepped in, demanding an MRI after three weeks of medical gaslighting. When the results finally came back, the “casual dismissiveness” of her medical team shifted to “total panic.” The actress was rushed to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles for an emergency thrombectomy—a high-stakes surgery to remove the clots before they caused a fatal stroke.
“The doctors told her they had to get the baby out immediately,” a source close to the situation shared. Within hours, Gadot was in surgery while simultaneously welcoming her daughter, Ori.
The name Ori means “my light” in Hebrew, a sentiment Gadot clung to during the ordeal. She shared that she told her husband, Jaron Varsano, that their daughter would be the “light at the end of the tunnel” as she headed into the operating room.
While the public saw a glowing announcement of Ori’s birth in March, we now know the family was privately recovering from a near-fatal disaster. Gadot, who is also mom to daughters Alma, Maya, and Daniella, is now using her platform to urge women to be their own advocates. Her message is clear: do not trust the first doctor who tells you that you are “fine” when your body says otherwise.
“The name Ori really makes sense now,” a fan commented on Instagram. “She was literally the light after a dark medical nightmare.”
As Gadot prepares for the release of Snow White, some wonder if the “Evil Queen” was facing a real-life villain in her own veins during production. Whether this vulnerability is a shift in her public narrative or a heartfelt warning, one thing is certain: Gal Gadot is lucky to be here.
The actress reminded her followers on social media that life is “fragile” and a “stark reminder of how quickly everything can change.” For this superhero, the scars of survival are the most powerful accessory she’s ever worn.
Would you like me to look into the specific symptoms of pregnancy-related brain clots or the resources Gal Gadot is recommending for medical self-advocacy?
