Debby Ryan is opening up about a brain injury that changed her life several years ago.
The former Disney Channel star, 33, revealed during an interview on Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals that she is still dealing with the aftermath of the injury, which occurred after a long history of migraines as well as four other concussions.
“I had a pretty crazy life-altering brain injury a few years ago, and I was out of commission for like six months,” Ryan said on the YouTube series episode, which was published Tuesday.
Ryan went on to say that she went to a “neurological rehab” for six months, but that her symptoms only got worse until she tried a “fringe science treatment.”
However, she said, “there are some things that just did not come back.”
The actor — who became known for her roles on Disney Channel shows Suite Life on Deck and Jessie — said that her first four concussions were caused by blunt impact, but that her most recent brain injury was caused by sustained physical shaking for more than a minute.
“There’s sort of pre-incident Debby and post-incident Debby,” she said.
Ryan also opened up about her “hellish” migraines, saying: “Quite often the world is really loud and too bright. A lot is going on. After the fifth concussion, the brain injury made things significantly worse.”
“Quite often I can see better and think better with my eyes closed,” she continued. “The visual data I am taking in can be so distracting and so loud. The migraines were significantly worsened by that. If there is a thing that can make things really singular, I like that.”
She added: “I feel really fortunate that I have an amazing team of people around me who sort of reminded me who I am and was and also held a lot of space for that to change, potentially permanently, and love me through that.”
Ryan got her start as a teen idol with her role as Bailey Pickett on The Suite Life on Deck from 2008 to 2011 alongside Dylan and Cole Sprouse. She then fronted her own show Jessie as the titular character from 2011 to 2015 alongside Peyton List and late actor Cameron Boyce.
While starring on Disney, she also appeared in the network’s original movies 16 Wishes in 2010 and Radio Rebel in 2012.
After her time on Disney, she went on to star in projects like Netflix series Insatiable in 2018 and, most recently, romance movie The Sun Never Sets with Elle Fanning and Jake Johnson.
Ryan married Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun on New Year’s Eve in 2019. She gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in December 2025.
