Emily Willis

In January 2024, Willis entered Summit Malibu in California to seek treatment for ketamine addiction. About a week later, on February 5, she suffered a cardiac arrest at the rehabilitation center. The resulting lack of oxygen caused a severe anoxic brain injury and left her permanently incapacitated.

After spending about two months in a coma, Willis became awake and able to track objects with her eyes. Her family said she remained unable to move or speak, and later described her as requiring continuous assistance with daily care.

Willis's family filed a negligence lawsuit against Summit Malibu and its parent company, arguing that staff failed to respond appropriately to her deteriorating condition. The defendants denied wrongdoing.

Willis was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved to the United States at the age of seven after her parents separated and her mother married an American citizen. She grew up in St. George, Utah, where she was raised in the LDS Church. She graduated from high school a year early and moved to San Diego, California, where she worked in door-to-door sales.

She began her professional adult-film career in 2017 after meeting an actor through a dating app. She went on to appear in more than 700 productions and became associated with studios including Brazzers, Vixen, Evil Angel, Jules Jordan Video, and Digital Playground.

Willis was named Penthouse Pet of the Month in May 2019. Her recognition expanded through the early 2020s, when she received honors from the AVN, XBIZ, XRCO, NightMoves, and other industry award organizations.

At the 2021 AVN Awards, Willis won Female Performer of the Year and several additional awards connected with productions including The Insatiable Emily Willis, Influence, Paranormal, and Facialized 7. She also won the 2021 XBIZ and XRCO awards for Female Performer of the Year.

In 2022, Willis joined the cast of Eddie Alcazar's thriller film Divinity. The film marked her feature-film debut and was discussed as a step toward more mainstream acting roles. In a 2023 interview, she said she wanted to pursue additional acting work outside the adult-film industry.

In 2023, Willis appeared in the music video for “Hive Mind,” a single by the heavy metal band Slipknot. She also appeared in a David Dobrik vlog in 2019 and maintained a substantial Instagram audience through modeling photographs.