Georgie Henley made her debut on the big screen as Lucy Pavensie – one of the main characters of the series “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, beloved by children all over the world. Although the Narnia films were not continued after the third part, Henley quickly found herself outside the franchise.
The world of films and TV series was open to her. she was only 15 years old, but she could already choose from offers of cooperation. For the next three years, she regularly appeared in films and plays in Great Britain. She tried her hand at directing and screenwriting and got into Cambridge. And then 2013 came.
Georgie Henley almost lost her life due to illness
Henley had only been studying for the first few weeks when she was struck by an infection. The actress does not go into details about how her fight for life began. In a long post on social media, she confessed what she had experienced only years later.
I was only 18 years old and had been studying at university for six weeks. I was attacked by necrotizing fasciitis – a rare and cruel infection that almost cost me my life and wreaked havoc on my body. To avoid amputation of my left hand and arm, I decided to undergo an invasive surgery and then an equally extensive reconstruction, which left numerous scars and unevenness. It took me a long time to heal not only physically but also mentally, but I hoped that one day the moment would come when I would be able to say what happened. This is the beginning, she wrote on social media.
Georgie Henley hid the effects of the disease
Georgie Henley recalls that in the following years, after overcoming a virulent and dangerous infection, she was terrified of the acting community’s reaction to what had happened to her. She covered the scars on her left arm with bandages, she never wore short sleeves, and made sure to wear pants with pockets in which she could hide her hand damaged by surgery.
I am part of an industry that has a very narrow definition of aesthetic “perfection”. I was afraid that my scars would prevent me from working. The truth is, of course, that there is no such thing as “perfection”, but I was still ashamed that I looked different, that I deviated from the norm and expectations, that this was not what my career was supposed to look like at the beginning of my professional path – wrote the actress.
The treatment was long and difficult. Georgie was left with deep scars after numerous surgeries on her hand and forearm. Agents selected her roles so that she didn’t have to show them. For a long time, Henley lived with the belief that “everyone was watching” and “everyone saw” only her injured hand. She needed long months of therapy and hard work on herself to accept what happened to her.
It sounds like something insignificant, but now, during this interview, it was one of the few moments when I wasn’t thinking about it, when I wasn’t wondering “how to hide it.” A lot of things were just in my mind, especially in those early years. I was afraid of how it would affect my abilities. And it was clear that I still didn’t feel ready to come to terms with it. I had to learn to talk about it without bursting into tears and it was a long road. For a long time I had nightmares that someone would take a photo of me at a moment over which I had no control and I was not prepared, she said in an interview with 1883magazine.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
