Gal Gadot Recalls Being ‘Scared to Death’ When Doctors Discovered Blood Clot in Her Brain While Pregnant

The actress detailed the “major” blood clot that was found while she was 8 months pregnant

Gal Gadot is detailing how terrifying her major health scare was while pregnant with her fourth child.

The Wonder Woman star, 39, appeared on the March 18 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show and opened up about learning she had a blood clot in her brain during her pregnancy last year.

“I was 8 months pregnant and it was my 4th baby. This time around I had massive headaches that completely put me down,” she told host Drew Barrymore. “I was in bed and I couldn’t hear or see anything. I had a hot bottle on my head and was just like this [lays back] all day, 24 hours.

“And it just got worse and worse and worse and I saw different doctors and neurologists and they said, ‘It’s probably a nasty migraine,’” she continued.

Gadot said it was her mom who encouraged her to get an MRI.

“None of the doctors sent me to get an MRI, even if we asked for it before,” the actress said. “Always advocate for your health. Always. Listen to yourself, advocate for your heart. If anything, you just over-checked yourself, right? That’s okay. And in this case, went to get an MRI and we were rushed to the hospital. I had a major brain clot.”

“If I had gone through a spontaneous delivery, I would not have been here,” she added. “It was all of this [touches head], 15 centimeters and 5 centimeters, 3 different ones. And it was the first time that I felt what it meant to be scared to death. And again, had I known better, they could have just put me on blood thinners and done.”

Gadot recalled being rushed to the hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery and gave birth to her daughter Ori “within two hours.”

The Snow White actress explained to Barrymore that she decided to open up about her health crisis because of a lack of awareness. As she approaches her 40th birthday, she realizes there’s so much about women’s health that she doesn’t know because it’s not discussed.

“Three out of 100,000 pregnant women will have a brain clot. But if you feel any symptoms just check yourself,” she stressed. “MRI is very easy and there’s no radiation or anything.”

Gadot initially announced the birth of her fourth child on Instagram in March 2024, though she made no mention of the harrowing medical situation at the time.

“My sweet girl, welcome,” Gadot captioned a photo of herself cradling Ori in a hospital bed at the time.

“The pregnancy was not easy and we made it through,” she continued. “You have brought so much light into our lives, living up to your name, Ori, which means ‘my light’ in Hebrew. Our hearts are full of gratitude. Welcome to the house of girls.. 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️ daddy is pretty cool too 😉❤️.”

Gadot, who is married to film producer Jaron Varsano, is also mom to Alma, 13, Maya, 7, and Daniella, 3.