But it wasn’t for playing the Mother of Dragons.
It was for what she did after surviving two life-threatening brain hemorrhages.
In 2011, shortly after finishing the first season of Game of Thrones, Emilia was exercising at a London gym when she suddenly developed an unbearable headache.
Doctors discovered a ruptured brain aneurysm.
She was only in her twenties.
After surgery, Emilia temporarily developed aphasia. At one point, she couldn’t even remember her own name.
Yet only weeks later, she returned to work.
Most viewers watching Daenerys Targaryen had no idea what she was recovering from behind the scenes.
Then, in 2013, another aneurysm required treatment.
The first procedure failed, forcing doctors to perform emergency open brain surgery.
Emilia survived again.
But years later, she said one of the hardest parts came after leaving hospital.
Her life had been saved.
Now she had to figure out how to live it again.
That experience eventually became SameYou, the brain injury recovery charity Emilia founded with her mother, Jenny.
They wanted to address something they had discovered firsthand: emergency medicine can save someone’s life, but long-term rehabilitation and emotional support after a brain injury can be painfully difficult to find.
Since launching in 2019, SameYou has supported research, rehabilitation programs and recovery resources while encouraging thousands of survivors to speak openly about their experiences.
Then came February 2024.
Emilia and Jenny walked into Windsor Castle together.
Prince William presented both women with an MBE for services to people with brain injuries.
For Emilia, the recognition wasn’t really about surviving.
It was about what happened afterward.
Two medical emergencies could have remained the most frightening chapters of her life.
Instead, she and her mother used them to help change what recovery might look like for someone else’s family.
Which do you think takes more strength: surviving something that nearly takes your life, or returning to it years later so other people don’t have to face the same recovery alone?
The world knew Emilia Clarke as a fearless warrior on screen. But what happened when she had to fight the most dangerous battle of her own life? The answer changed thousands of lives forever