'Ozark' Star Julia Garner Reveals She Suffered Epilepsy in Childhood

“Ozark” star Julia Garner is a rising star in Hollywood, but her childhood was quite challenging as she dealt with learning disabilities and epilepsy.

Even though Julia Garner’s on-screen credits go back to the early 2010s, the TV show that put her on everyone’s radar was “Ozark,” where she worked opposite Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.

Her portrayal of hillbilly Ruth Langmore in the Netflix hit show has been so outstanding that she has taken home two Emmy Awards for Supporting Actress so far.

Garner’s first Emmy was probably the most unexpected of the two, especially because she was seen as a newcomer next to her fellow nominees: “Killing Eve” Fiona Shaw and “Game of Thrones” Lena Headey, Gwendoline Christie, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams.

It was unexpected only for the general public, though, as Garner’s co-stars always knew what she’s capable of. According to Linney, Garner doesn’t remember the scenes after the director says “cut.”

Garner explained that if she did remember what happened, she would ask to redo the shot as it meant she wasn’t present. For this reason – and her character’s development in the show – she won her second consecutive Emmy in 2020.

It is fair to say that Garner is one of the most promising stars in Hollywood nowadays, but her road to greatness has not been a walk in the park.

She eventually learned to read, but her confidence issues were already crippling.

The 27-year-old actress grew up in Riverdale, New York, watching classic films with her “very academic” parents. Still, she described herself as the “worst student.”

Unfortunately, Garner dealt with a severe learning disability that made it hard for her to read. Her situation was so brutal that her parents thought she was legally “letter-blind.”

If that wasn’t challenging enough, Garner was also a “very sick” kid who struggled with epilepsy. For all these reasons, she felt like everything she said was “stupid” and shut down.

She eventually learned to read, but her confidence issues were already crippling. As a teen, she started taking acting classes, and it helped with her severe shyness.

Garner explained she loved acting because she could use someone else’s lines to express her feelings. She landed her first part in “Martha Marcy May Marlene” in 2011, and the rest is history.