Gal Gadot needed brain surgery while eight months pregnant

The Israeli mega-star wrote of her experience almost a year after the fact in order to raise awareness about her condition, called CVT.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Screen star Gal Gadot needed major emergency brain surgery while eight months pregnant, the actress disclosed Sunday, nearly a year after the fact.

With the approach of 2025, the Israeli actress who portrayed the superhero Wonder Woman to smashing success that led to superstardom took to Instagram to reflect on the last twelve months of her life, and shocked fans with her revelation.

“This year has been one of profound challenges and deep reflections, and I’ve wrestled with how, or even if, to share a personal story,” she wrote. “At the end, I decided to let my heart guide me. Perhaps this is my way of processing everything, of pulling back the curtain on the fragile reality behind the curated moments we share on social media.”

For weeks she had been having headaches so “excruciating” that she had to stay in bed, she wrote. She underwent an MRI in February and discovered “the terrifying truth” that in her advanced stage of pregnancy she had “a massive blood clot in my brain.”

“In one moment, my family and I were faced with how fragile life can be. It was a stark reminder of how quickly everything can change, and in the midst of a difficult year, all I wanted was to hold on and live,” her post said sombrely.

Within hours she was on the operating table, and she thanked her “extraordinary team of doctors” at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for her successful surgery and full recovery, after “weeks of dedicated care.”

Gadot noted that her daughter, born during this “moment of uncertainty and fear,” was named Ori, meaning “my light” in English, because she had told her husband Jared before the critical operation that their baby “would be the light waiting for me at the end of this tunnel.”

The couple have three other daughters, Alma (11), Maya (6), and Daniella (2).

Her biggest motivation for exposing her serious health problem was to help others, she wrote.

She had Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT), she revealed, which is a rare medical condition characterized by the formation of a blood clot in the brain that can lead to increased pressure and strokes. Without treatment it can easily be fatal but when caught in time 80% recover without any physical disabilities.

The actress shared facts about CVT, and urged people to learn more about it, as “awareness matters” because identifying it early is crucial. She also counselled that people should be “attuned to your body” because “it can be life saving.”

“If even one person feels compelled to take action for their health because of this story, it will have been worth sharing,” Gadot concluded.

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