Tatum O'Neal had near-fatal stroke after drug overdose

Tatum O'Neal has opened up about experiencing a near-fatal stroke after a drug overdose in 2020.

In an interview with People, the Oscar winner and her son Kevin McEnroe opened up about the health scare which Tatum experienced in May 2020 as a result of abusing drugs.

"I almost died," the Little Darlings actress told the publication.

The 59-year-old actress has struggled with drug addiction for her "whole life" and has been admitted to multiple rehabilitation facilities over the years.

Kevin, 37, confessed that he and his two siblings feared for their mother's health leading up to the incident.

"It was the call we'd always been waiting for," Kevin stated.

"She also had a cardiac arrest and a number of seizures," the actress's son revealed. "There were times we didn't think she was going to survive."

"I've been through a lot," the Bad News Bears star said, sharing that she had abused pain medication at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had been prescribed to her for neck and back pain and rheumatoid arthritis.

After overdosing, the actress was found by a friend in her California home and rushed to the hospital where she was diagnosed with aphasia, often caused by a sudden stroke or head injury.

"At times, it was touch and go," Kevin stated, explaining that Tatum's right frontal cortex had been damaged - causing a number of issues such as memory loss and loss of speech. "I had to call my brother and sister and say she was thought to be blind, deaf and potentially might never speak again."

Following two years of rehabilitation and therapy, the mother of three has begun to regain her memory.

Tatum is the youngest Oscar winner of all time thanks to her role in the 1973 film Paper Moon.