Jordana Brewster Opens Up About Undergoing Brain Surgery While Conscious

Jordana Brewster is reflecting on a pivotal medical moment from her past.

The 46-year-old Fast & Furious star was diagnosed with a seizure-causing cavernous malformation in her brain at age 28. For more than a decade, medication successfully controlled her condition and kept seizures at bay. But when two breakthrough seizures occurred in 2020, Brewster decided to pursue surgical intervention.

She underwent a craniotomy while remaining awake during the procedure—a choice that proved instrumental to its success. Speaking on the June 30 episode of She MD, Brewster described the experience in vivid detail.

"They shaved this part," she recalled. "They opened my skull and I was on my side and there was someone in front of me showing me cards and sort of testing my language and two brilliant neurosurgeons behind me."

The conscious approach allowed surgeons to monitor her cognitive responses in real time. As Brewster explained, this safeguard prevented them from damaging critical brain regions.

"If I couldn't come up with a word association or if I couldn't answer a question, they knew, 'Okay, we've hit a part of the brain we shouldn't hit and let's stay away from there,'" she said.

During the operation, Brewster experienced aphasia—a neurological condition that disrupts the ability to speak, write, and comprehend language. The sensation proved disorienting.

"You think it, you know the answer, but you're not able to say it, which is a really weird feeling," the Lethal Weapon actress explained. The experience prompted deeper reflection about communication challenges faced by patients in altered states of consciousness.

"And it also made me question, 'Wait, what about patients that are in a coma or what about patients that can't articulate what they want to say but it's there, which is really frustrating?'" she pondered.

Six years have passed since the surgery, and Brewster has remained seizure-free. She credits a broader life transformation that year with giving her the resolve to address her condition.

"I kind of overhauled my life in 2020 and I think that helped also to give me the bravery to do something about the CVM," Brewster said. "I got a divorce. I found the love of my life. It was like Eat Pray Love on steroids."