Former adult star Emily Willis had an eventful life leading up to her tragic hospitalisation after suffering a cardiac arrest – being hailed best Female Performer on many occasions

Emily is now awake but in a ‘vegetative state’ after waking from her coma (Image: emilywillisx3/Instagram)

Emily Willis, the former X-rated star who recently woke from a “vegetative coma” following a cardiac arrest two months ago, had quite the life leading up to her tragic hospitalisation.

Born in Argentina on December 29, 1998, Emily was raised in Utah and later moved to San Diego, California, where she worked in sales – a lot more PG than what she’d go on to do.

But it was upon meeting GirlsDoPorn performer and recruiter Andre Garcia on Tinder when her life would change forever – Garcia asked Emily if she’d like to star in pornography films and she agreed, soon shooting her first two scenes which were released in 2018.

Emily Willis had quite the life leading up to her tragic hospitalisation

Emily, real name Litzy Lara Banulos, made the move to Las Vegas in 2018 before Los Angeles and in May 2020 starred in her very first double penetration scene for ‘The Insatiable Emily Willis’, produced by Jules Jordan’s studio.

In October the following year the Argentinian-American racy actress filed a $5million defamation lawsuit against two other industry stars Gianna Dior and Adria Rae after they alleged she was filmed engaged in 𝑠e𝑥 acts with a dog.

Since the suit, Adria Rae apologised and it’s said the stars came to an agreement on their own terms, leading to the suit reportedly being dropped in 2022.

Emily, 25, was raised in Utah but born in Argentina (Image: Getty Images)

In April 2022, Emily joined the cast of Eddie Alcazar’s controversial thriller film Divinity. Writing for Paste, Jacob Oller said the film had “an extended 𝑠e𝑥 scene with porn star Emily Willis” that was “exhaustingly dull”. However, not everyone agreed as Nadir Samara, writing for Screen Rant, said Emily’s performance – along with stars Karrueche Tran, Bella Thorne and Moisés Arias – “are what give Divinity the tone that sets it apart from anything else you will see this year”.

Emily previously revealed her favourite porn stars to work with. They include Damon Dice, Ramón Nomar, Logan Long and Ricky Johnson. Emily has also worked with female performers including Ariana Marie, Charlotte Stokely, Georgia Jones and India Summer.

She’s won multiple AVN Awards including Female Performer of the Year in 2021 and the 2022 AVN Award for Best Gangbang Scene, as well as been nominated for several other saucy scenes. By the end of 2023 she had starred in more than 700 pornographic movies and scenes – with the top rated on IMDB being ‘Bratty Sis’, ‘Tinder In Real Life 4’ and ‘Emily Willis: Influence’.

Emily, real name Litzy Lara Banulos, starred in her very first double penetration scene in 2020 (Image: emilywillisx3/Instagram)

Fast-forward to February 5 this year, Emily was admitted for critical care in a medical facility in Thousand Oaks, California, after suffering a cardiac arrest. She fell into a “vegetative coma” but has since regained consciousness, however, she’s still not able to talk and can only really track things with her eyes.

Emily’s family keep updating her fans, but they say she had been planning a career move before her sudden medical issue. In updates on her GoFundMe page, her sibling reassured donators that every penny was going towards Emily’s recovery and that the family was working with hospitals to get her transferred closer to her home state.

The update added although she hasn’t yet been transferred the current care she is receiving is good, and thanked everyone for helping to reach the donation goal. “Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for exceeding the donation goal, and all the support,” it said.

She’s won multiple AVN Awards including Female Performer of the Year in 2021 and the 2022 AVN Award for Best Gangbang Scene (Image: emilywillisx3/Instagram)

“The love and care everyone has expressed for my sister is inspiring. My family wouldn’t have been able to provide the level of care needed without your donations. All donations are and have been going directly towards Emily’s recovery. Apologies for not providing an update sooner.

“The most important thing loved ones can do is provide stimulus by talking to her, reminiscing about all the fantastic memories, playing her favourite music, photos, and more. As of now, we haven’t been able to transfer hospitals, but the location she’s at provides great rehabilitation, care, and stimulus for her well being.

“I want to sincerely thank everyone for all your support and donations. From the bottom of our hearts we are extremely grateful to see the love from so many people who want to see Emily get better. Your donations give us the opportunity to make the best decisions for her care.

By the end of 2023 she had starred in more than 700 pornographic movies and scenes (Image: emilywillisx3/Instagram)

“I will provide updates of her recovery as we learn more information and time goes by. This is a long journey ahead of us, please be patient as this is the most difficult part of the state she’s in.”

Emily’s recovery is not expected to progress any further for the time being as doctors remain confused on how a cardiac arrest event occurred. A toxicology report confirmed no drugs were in her system at the time, the New York Post reported.

Her family now hopes to move her from a hospital in California to St. Geroge, Utah. The GoFundMe denied there was any substances in Emily’s system at the time of her medical incident. A previous update confirmed the comatose state for the ex-adult star and that initial reports of an overdose were “not accurate as far as the doctors” were concerned.