Ever since she made her splash in the film industry with 2009’s comedy piece Mystery Team, Aubrey Plaza has proven she can do wonders for Hollywood’s entertainment industry. Be it action, drama, dark comedy, or superhero magic, the actress has shown her excellent chops across all fields, with her most recent gig gaining her recognition being that of Rio Vidal in Agatha All Along.
But while onscreen, she may seem the perfect actress who knows how to bring to life the characters assigned to her, offscreen, Plaza’s life has been met with some tragedies. One of these includes the time she suffered a stroke out of nowhere when she was only 20. While the circumstances in which this happened were unusually normal, it still scarred her brutally for some time.
Of course, over the time that has passed ever since, the 40-year-old actress has healed from it all. However, this horrific and incredibly unexpected turn of events not only landed Plaza with temporary aphasia back then but also ended up changing her entire perspective on life therewith. That said, here’s everything you need to know about this tragic detail of Plaza’s life.
Aubrey Plaza Suffered a Stroke at 20 with Tragic Consequences
Apparently, this happened sometime around 20 years ago, when a 20-year-old Aubrey Plaza had just arrived at one of her friend’s apartments for lunch after taking the train there. Within seconds of her walking in, the stroke hit her mid-sentence as she was talking – which she describes as the craziest as well as the coolest thing about it all – and left her paralyzed for a moment.
Explaining her reaction to it, Plaza said during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show: “That’s when I was paralyzed, but only really for a minute or something. I lost my motor skills really briefly. The freakiest thing was I forgot how to talk.” As it turns out, what happened to her following the stroke and brief paralysis was temporary aphasia that messed with her motor skills.
In another interview with NPR, she described her experience as blacking out for a second before realizing she couldn’t talk properly besides making something of an ah (ph) sound. Explaining her situation, The White Lotus actress said,
I couldn’t talk because the blood clot was in my language center of my brain. So I had expressive aphasia instantly, which means that if you’re talking to me, I could understand what you’re saying in my mind and understand how to respond. But I couldn’t actually get it out. I couldn’t actually talk.
What’s surprising, is that initially, her friends thought she was just pulling off a prank on them as she was known for her weird sense of humor. But they realized that something was seriously wrong when she kept on nodding to them asking her if they should call an ambulance. However, Plaza’s condition couldn’t immediately be diagnosed, even after she reached the hospital.
Aubrey Plaza’s Temporary Aphasia Couldn’t be Diagnosed Immediately
Plaza had to wait around 2 hours in the ER before the doctor examined her as she looked physically fine. Plus, the paramedics had a hard time diagnosing her problem as they thought she was either dehydrated or under the influence. She told NPR, “They kept asking me if I’d taken drugs, and I hadn’t. I hadn’t really put anything into my body that day except for birth control.”
Adding to this, she was confused and couldn’t even talk. Although she understood what was being asked of her and knew how to respond, she couldn’t say anything nor could she “express it or even write it.” Revealing how she felt this was the weirdest part about it all, she shared how she “kept writing lines instead of words” even when given a paper and a pen.
The fact that she had suffered expressive aphasia could only be diagnosed when Aubrey Plaza couldn’t distinguish right from left. “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. I was confused about right and left. And I think that’s when everyone realized, oh, like, she had a stroke,” she told NPR.
Aubrey Plaza’s Stroke Helped Changed Her Approach to Life
While this unfortunate turn of events left her scared and scarred, it didn’t take too long for Aubrey Plaza to recover. Since she was young, her brain healed soon after the clot, and her speaking skills and writing returned within a couple of days – something she considers herself lucky for. But the residuals of it all still remain. As the Parks and Recreation star continued to tell NPR:
I still have – there’s still certain, you know, things that only I would notice that are kind of residual from – left over from that incident. And since then, I’ve had some minor – they call them TIAs, which are transient ischemic attacks, that are tiny little strokes. So something’s up with my blood, but I don’t know what it is.
At the same time, this “terrifying” and “really scary” accident sincerely helped change her approach to life, even if “unconsciously,” as she claims. Sharing how she didn’t change that dramatically, Plaza said, “I guess it sounds cheesy to say, but I think I always am aware of how precious life is, and I try to remember that every day. And I’m sure that has something to do with my approach and my attitude about, you know, about everything.”
All of this said, even though it may not have changed her dramatically, it has allowed her to see the bigger picture and helped her lessen taking everything too seriously while getting hung up on the small things. To say the least, the stroke and temporary aphasia that followed helped Aubrey Plaza realize that life is short, so she might as well just “do as much as I can.” Perhaps, all for the better.
