People magazine<\/a>, the 94-year-old actress, who played the sharp-tongued housekeeper Florence Johnson throughout the hit sitcom\u2019s 11-season run from 1975 to 1985, shared that she experienced the medical crisis in 2006.\u00a0<\/p>\nGibbs recounted her long and difficult recovery, which included rehabilitation, emotional struggles and relearning physical.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people do not survive brain aneurysms, so I knew God still had plans for me,\u201d Gibbs wrote. \u201cThe more my strength and memory came back, the more trouble I got into.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I said before, I\u2019m Gemini and my mind is always curious and always working \u2026 not always for the better,\u201d she continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, I did not want to use the diapers while in rehab. I wanted to go to the bathroom on my own,\u201d Gibbs explained. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe bathroom was right next to my bed so I could not understand why I needed help to get there. Every time they would leave the room, I would sneak out of the bed and end up on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThe Jeffersons\u201d star Marla Gibbs revealed that she suffered a\u00a0brain aneurysm and stroke\u00a0that nearly took her life.\u00a0 FITZROY BARRETT\/GLOBE PHOTOS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGibbs shared that her family eventually requested medical workers to tie her to her bed. However, she remembered that she remained determined to regain her independence though she admitted she began having private doubts about her ability to fully recover.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched carefully as the nurses tied me up, so I could untie myself as soon as they left,\u201d Gibbs wrote. \u201cAnd you guessed it \u2026 I\u2019d be on the floor again. I said to myself, \u2018Marla, we gotta stop ending up down here, we\u2019re not getting anywhere.\u2019 There was just something inside me that kept saying, \u2018It ain\u2019t over.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when I got home and looked at the old woman staring back at me in the mirror, I said, \u2018Maybe it is over.\u2019 Maybe my days as an actress are gone,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the years leading up to her stroke, Gibbs had been working steadily, with\u00a0roles in films\u00a0including \u201cThe Visit\u201d and \u201cMadea\u2019s Witness Protection\u201d and taking on guest spots in TV shows like \u201cER,\u201d \u201cCold Case,\u201d \u201cPassions,\u201d \u201cArli$$,\u201d and \u201cThe Hughleys.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nGibbs recounted her long and difficult recovery, which included rehabilitation, emotional struggles and relearning physical.\u00a0 CLINTON H WALLACE \u2013 IPOL<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn addition to her work as an actress, Gibbs had also embarked on a music career. In May 2006, she released a CD titled \u201cIt\u2019s Never Too Late.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back, Gibbs explained that the emotional aftermath of her health crisis and contending with her fears for her future proved just as difficult as the physical recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecovery was hard, and it took every ounce of physical, mental and spiritual strength I could muster,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI started questioning why it happened, especially when I still had so many plans for my life. I was getting ready to tour with my new jazz CD, but as they say, man makes plans and God laughs. This wasn\u2019t funny though.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI sank into a deep depression,\u201d she continued. \u201cI felt like maybe it was time for me to go. I didn\u2019t want to get up. I didn\u2019t want to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family had a caretaker come and help,\u201d Gibbs added. \u201cShe would fix breakfast and help them clean, but it was just a difficult time. It\u2019s humbling when you can\u2019t do anything for yourself. My mind told me I could walk, but I couldn\u2019t without help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gibbs recalled that she eventually entered an outpatient rehabilitation facility where she underwent occupational, physical and speech therapy.<\/p>\nBilly Dee Williams with Marla Gibbs at the 2000 premiere of \u201cThe Visit.\u201d FREELANCE<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cAs I progressed, they had me do a light jog across the room,\u201d she recalled. \u201cMy friend, Chrystal Carmichael from Detroit, came to help. The first day she got here, we went walking, and then I wanted to show her I could jog, and I\u00a0fell and hit my head.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was embarrassing, but mostly it was disheartening,\u201d she continued. \u201cI complained to the rehab center, and the nurse said, \u2018We didn\u2019t tell you to jog at home!\u2019 I finally accepted where I was at in my recovery. I had always been an independent woman who juggled multiple projects. Now, I was totally dependent and could do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAcceptance of where I was in my recovery was essential to me healing, and I think acceptance is key to healing in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over time, Gibbs recovered and returned to acting with guest roles in hit TV series including \u201cLincoln Heights,\u201d \u201cHouse of Payne,\u201d \u201cScandal,\u201d \u201cHot in Cleveland,\u201d \u201cBlack-ish,\u201d \u201cThis Is Us,\u201d \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d and \u201cDays of Our Lives\u201d among others.<\/p>\n
Most recently, she appeared in \u201cChicago Med,\u201d \u201cThe Upshaws,\u201d \u201cWill Trent\u201d and \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Never Too Late\u201d will be published on Feb. 24<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source pagesix.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Jeffersons\u201d star Marla Gibbs revealed that she suffered a\u00a0brain aneurysm and stroke\u00a0that nearly took her life.\u00a0 In an excerpt from her new memoir \u201cIt\u2019s Never Too Late\u201d that was obtained by\u00a0People magazine, the 94-year-old actress, who played the sharp-tongued housekeeper Florence Johnson throughout the hit sitcom\u2019s 11-season run from 1975 to 1985, shared that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2296934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[25538,374227,24003,368207,355137],"class_list":["post-2296933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-actors","tag-brains","tag-celebrity-news","tag-classic-television","tag-health-and-fitness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/The-Jeffersons-star-Marla-Gibbs-reveals-she-beat-brain-aneurysm.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2296933"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2296935,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296933\/revisions\/2296935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2296934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2296933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2296933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2296933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}