Cameron Boyce, a teen idol for his roles on the Disney Channel series “Jessie” and in the Disney Channel Original Movie franchise “Descendants,” died suddenly in his sleep this weekend, his family has confirmed. He was just 20 years old.
The family statement read: “It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron. He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated. The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him. We are utterly heartbroken and ask for privacy during this immensely difficult time as we grieve the loss of our precious son and brother.”
Disney Channel released its own statement: “From a young age, Cameron Boyce dreamed of sharing his extraordinary artistic talents with the world. As a young man, he was fuelled by a strong desire to make a difference in peoples’ lives through his humanitarian work. He was an incredibly talented performer, a remarkably caring and thoughtful person and, above all else, he was a loving and dedicated son, brother, grandson and friend. We offer our deepest condolences to his family, cast mates and colleagues and join his many millions of fans in grieving his untimely passing. He will be dearly missed.”
Boyce made his debut in the 2008 film “Mirrors,” played one of Adam Sandler’s children in “Grown Ups” (2010) and “Grown Ups 2” (2013), and also appeared in “Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer” (2011).
On TV, he was on 98 episodes of the popular “Jessie,” growing up before his fans’ eyes. He starred in the highly successful DCOM “Descendants” (2015) and its sequels and spin-offs, including a second sequel that has yet to air. He also made appearances on other Disney Channel shows, including “Shake It Up” (2011), “Austin & Ally” (2012), and “Liv and Maddie” (2015).
Boyce had several projects in post-production at the time of his passing, including the upcoming HBO series “Mrs. Fletcher.”
In spite of his young age, Boyce was noted for his charity work, including introducing Joe Biden at the Biden Courage Awards in March and being honored with a Pioneering Spirit Award for his nonprofit Thirst Project, which builds wells of drinking water in Swaziland.
“There are no limits. We have the world in our pockets — it’s crazy! We can Tweet whenever we want, and we can use social media and Instagram and make the world a better place instead of a worse one, which so many people use it for, but we need to use our resources and what we have — we’re all in here in suits — we need to use what we have and make the world a better place for other people, other people, people who need us,” he said as he accepted his Pioneering Spirit Award.
rest in peace to cameron boyce 😞 he was so young, incredibly talented, but also one of the kindest ppl I’ve ever met. sending love to his friends & family 💔
— James Charles (@jamescharles) July 7, 2019
He was memorialized by many of his peers, including his “Jessie” co-star Skai Jackson, who wrote on his final Instagram post, “I love you. Forever in my heart 💔👼🏼” and his “Descendants” director Kenny Ortega, who wrote, “Peter Pan, The forever boy! Love you Cam!”