Actress Aubrey Plaza Says She Was Briefly Paralyzed, Unable to Speak After Stroke at Age 20

“The White Lotus” star Aubrey Plaza recounted a frightening health scare she faced when she was 20 years old, which briefly impaired her speech and resulted in temporary paralysis of the left side of her body.
The medical emergency occurred after the actress had taken a train to Astoria—a neighborhood in Queens, New York—to have lunch with friends. “It happened mid-sentence,” she recalled. “I walked into [my friend’s] apartment and just in mid—like I hadn’t even my jacket off—and like in mid-sentence it just happened, and that’s when I was paralyzed.”
The paralysis lasted only for about a minute, during which time the actress said she was well aware that her brain was malfunctioning. “The freakiest thing was that I forgot how to talk,” she said. “It was terrifying; I thought I’d never speak again.”
Eventually recognizing the gravity of the situation, her friends called 911. At first, paramedics suspected that Plaza was either dehydrated or possibly under the influence due to her young age.
“A doctor finally examined me, and I believe she asked me to put my right hand on my left knee, and I couldn’t do it,” she shared on “Fresh Air.”
“I was confused about right and left. And I think that’s when everyone realized, ‘Oh, like, she had a stroke.’”
Doctors suggested that the birth control medication she had been taking may have played a role in triggering the brain attack.
“I had kind of been on like a new [birth control pill] or something for a couple months. It was really the only thing I was putting into my body,” she told Stern.
“I never took that again ever. I’ve never been on hormones or anything like that again because clearly, I mean, I think it was probably that.”
After spending a few nights in the hospital’s stroke unit, Plaza was transferred to a hospital in her home state of Delaware so she could be closer to family.
“There was no recovery. I mean, when you have a stroke, you have a stroke. There’s nothing you can do about it. Your brain has to heal itself,” she told NPR. “The blood clot area of my brain will never be healed; it’s a tiny little black hole in my brain.”
After undergoing treatment with a cognitive therapy specialist, Plaza said she was able to regain her ability to speak and write. However, she said she still suffers transient ischemic attacks, or mini strokes, to this day. “So something’s up with my blood, but I don’t know what it is,” she said.
Reflecting on the terrifying experience, Plaza said she is now more aware of how precious life truly is. “I try to remember that every day,” the actress said.
“I tend to see the bigger picture—or try to see the bigger picture—and try not to take things so seriously and try not to get hung up on the small things,” she continued.
“But I do have an overall feeling of life is short, and I might as well just do as much as I can. Maybe it’s why I’m so busy.”