Shailene Woodley Reveals Her Career was Nearly Ruined By “Scary Physical Situation”

Shailene Woodley spoke about a health scare that almost derailed her career.

The 'Big Little Lies' actress, Shailene Woodley, revealed a "scary physical situation" that nearly ended her career. In an interview with The New York Times, the 28-year-old shed light on the time she was "very, very sick" during the filming of the 'Divergent' movies.

Although Woodley was hesitant to explain the cause of her illness, the actress disclosed:

I haven't spoken much about this yet publicly, and I will one day, but I was very, very sick in my early 20s. While I was doing the Divergent movies and working hard, I also was struggling with a deeply personal, very scary physical situation.

Shailene continued, "Because of that, I said no to a lot of opportunities because I needed to get better, and those jobs ended up going to peers of mine who I love."

Watch: Shailene Woodley Plays 'Woodley Have Done It?'

The native of Southern California revealed she received criticisms for turning down projects. Numerous inconsiderate people told her she shouldn't haven't let go of such appealing projects, and worse, she shouldn't have been sick (as if this was under control). This was combined with her own internal struggle contemplating whether she's going to survive what she was going through and ever be healthy. She even wondered whether she'd receive opportunities to work on her passions again because of her situation.

The Big Little Lies actress added,

I was in a place where I had no choice but to just surrender and let go of my career, and it brought out this negative voice in my mind that kept spinning for years and years afterward.

Woodley is now fully recovered and is doing much better in both personal and professional life. The last few years for her was all about focusing on mental health. She credits this gradual process of healing for feeling grounded and rooted in who she is, aiding her to become pretty clear about everything in her life, whether it's her career, relationships, or intrinsic happiness.

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The two times Golden Globes nominee concluded, "I feel very grateful to have walked that line of fire, because now I know what I don't want to ever go back to."

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