Actresses Who Got Seriously Injured on the Set

Film and TV sets are tightly controlled workplaces with stunt coordinators, safety teams, and rehearsals designed to reduce risk. Even so, the combination of complex rigs, heavy equipment, pyrotechnics, water work, and long shooting days means accidents can and do happen. When they do, productions often halt, rewrite action, or bring in medical specialists to help performers recover and finish the job safely.

Below are real examples of actresses who sustained significant injuries while working. You’ll find what happened, how productions responded, and what—if anything—changed on set afterward. Titles of the projects are included so you can place each incident in context.

Charlize Theron

During a wire-assisted flip on the Berlin set of ‘Æon Flux’, Charlize Theron landed on her neck, an impact serious enough to shut down production for weeks while she recovered and doctors monitored her condition. The pause allowed the team to reassess stunt plans before filming resumed.

Theron later described the injury as a back handspring gone wrong that led to long-term neck issues and surgery; she’s also spoken about additional surgeries from other projects, underscoring how cumulative stunt work can be.

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman was injured in a car crash while filming a driving shot for ‘Kill Bill’. The on-set vehicle lost control on a straightaway and collided, leaving her with neck and knee injuries and prompting extensive scrutiny of how the sequence had been prepared and cleared.

Years later, Thurman released the footage, explaining that obtaining it had taken time and that she wanted it public as part of a broader conversation about set safety and accountability after accidents.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry broke ribs training and rehearsing fight sequences for ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’, which temporarily sidelined her until the director adjusted the schedule to accommodate her recovery and allow her to complete the role.

Earlier in her career, Berry’s forearm was fractured during a struggle scene on ‘Gothika’; she completed large portions of the shoot in a cast while production revised blocking and coverage. She has since detailed numerous on-set injuries across different films.

Linda Hamilton

During an elevator shootout sequence for ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, Linda Hamilton sustained permanent partial hearing loss after gunfire echoed in the confined space. The incident has been cited in later accounts of the production’s most hazardous moments.

Hamilton has explained that the blast conditions inside the elevator were especially loud, and the experience informed later best practices about hearing protection around blank-fire weapons in tight interiors.

Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee while filming a rooftop chase for ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, requiring surgery and a stop-start schedule that rearranged fight units and dialogue scenes around her rehabilitation.

Yeoh has discussed returning to set with careful choreography adjustments, using camera angles and doubles selectively while rebuilding knee strength so principal photography could continue without compromising safety.

Blake Lively

Blake Lively suffered a severe hand injury on ‘The Rhythm Section’ during an action sequence, leading producers to suspend the shoot for months and rework the calendar until she could undergo additional surgery.

When filming restarted, the team modified the action design and shot planning—particularly close-quarters fights—to protect the healing hand while maintaining continuity for the story.

Isla Fisher

Isla Fisher nearly drowned performing an underwater escape in ‘Now You See Me’ when a chain snag kept her submerged longer than planned; safety staff ultimately intervened after realizing her distress wasn’t part of the performance.

Afterward, Fisher explained that training and kill-switch protocols were in place but that the entanglement required rapid human backup; the sequence was subsequently approached with revised spotter positions and clearer distress cues.

Ruby Rose

While working on ‘Batwoman’, Ruby Rose herniated two cervical discs and underwent emergency spine surgery to prevent potential paralysis. She later shared the medical footage publicly to explain the abrupt medical leave from the show.

Rose also alleged that the injury and recovery timeline affected production demands and hours; the incident fueled discussions about turnaround times and return-to-work clearances for action-heavy television.

Jennifer Lawrence

A controlled explosion on ‘Don’t Look Up’ sent debris through a pane and cut Jennifer Lawrence near the eye, halting filming for the day while she received treatment and the effects setup was reviewed.

Lawrence has separately described temporary hearing loss from water and jet effects during ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’, illustrating how very different setups—pyrotechnics versus aquatic stunts—carry distinct injury risks that productions have to manage.

Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn injured her back on ‘The Exorcist’ when a wire pull during a possession scene yanked her to the floor with more force than intended, leaving a lasting spinal issue and prompting changes to how subsequent takes were executed.

Accounts of the shoot note that the harness pull was recalibrated and communication tightened between performer and rigging crew, a response that has since become standard procedure on sets using high-energy jerk pulls.

Share any other notable cases you think belong on this list in the comments—let’s keep the conversation going about on-set safety and the stories behind these performances.