Instagram/Victor Boyce Cameron Boyce with his parents.
Cameron Boyce, the Disney Channel star who died at the age of 20, leaves behind a grieving mother, father, sister, grandmother, and other family members.
In a recent interview, he discussed how his grandmother, in particular, was an inspiration to him because of her role in the civil rights movement. However, based on interviews he gave, Boyce was very close to many of his family members. His father’s name is Victor Boyce and his mother’s name is Libby Boyce. Cameron Boyce was of African, Caribbean, and Jewish descent.
TMZ is now reporting that Boyce suffered from epilepsy and that his roommate found him unresponsive.
Boyce starred on Disney’s shows Descendants and Jessie. Fans expressed great shock when the news of Boyce’s untimely death from a seizure broke in the early morning hours of July 7, 2019. According to the Blast, the death of Boyce has surprised fans because people didn’t know he was facing an illness. Fans and co-stars began to immediately fill social media with tributes.
GettyCameron Boyce attends the 2019 Radio Disney Music Awards at CBS Studios – Radford on June 16, 2019 in Studio City, California.
The actor Adam Sandler, who starred with Boyce in the 2010 movie Grown Ups, spoke for many when he wrote: “Too young. Too sweet. Too funny.”
“Just the nicest, most talented, and most decent kid around. Loved that kid. Cared so much about his family. Cared so much about the world. Thank you, Cameron, for all you gave to us. So much more was on the way. All our hearts are broken. Thinking of your amazing family and sending our deepest condolences.”
Throwback to the time Cameron got hurt playing street football and Maya played dominos for the first and last time 😂
Here’s what you need to know about Cameron Boyce’s family:
1. Cameron Boyce’s Family Told ABC News They Were ‘Utterly Heartbroken’ & Asked for Privacy to Grieve Boyce’s Loss
Boyce’s dad has posted a heartbreaking message on Instagram about his son. He wrote:
“My son. Just hours before he was snatched from our lives. I miss him terribly. I hope that no one ever has to feel the agony I’m feeling but no one is immune to tragedy. The outpouring of love and support our family continues to receive is so beautiful and appreciated. Thank you all for helping us through our worst possible situation. ??❤️”
Cameron Boyce’s family confirmed the sad news of his death to ABC News. “We are utterly heartbroken and ask for privacy during this immensely difficult time as we grieve the loss of our precious son and brother,” a family spokesperson said Saturday.
According to The Blast, Cameron Boyce died of a seizure from what was described as an ongoing illness.
The illness was not disclosed. “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,” his family told ABC.
It’s not clear whether Cameron Boyce had a girlfriend. However, he denied dating a slew of women subjected to rumors about him. “I’m dating five people. I’m dating [Dove Cameron], I’m dating Sofia [Carson], I’m dating Sofia’s sister [Paulina], I’m dating Brenna [D’Amico], I’m dating Sophie [Reynolds], I’m dating everyone and I’m dating none of them,” he told TOPPtube in an interview with actress Dove Cameron.
2. Boyce Said in a Recent Interview That His Grandmother Was His Role Model Due to Her Civil Rights Work
GettyCameron Boyce
Boyce recently gave an interview in March 2019 to the site Dazed about an indie role he had taken on in a thriller called Runt, in which he played “a neglected teen pulled into a cycle of violence,” according to Dazed.
In that interview, he discussed his grandmother Jo Ann Boyce’s civil rights work. The 77-year-old woman belonged to a group of “courageous black students who attended Clinton High School in Tennessee, following the Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling for it to desegregate,” the site reported.
Cameron’s grandmother 🙂
It quoted Boyce as saying of his grandma: “She had to be so brave. She had to face death threats, berating and violence just to go to school. She’s a hero – they’re all heroes.” The Dazed reported that Boyce was of African-American and Jewish heritage and also worked on causes throughout the years, such as the “global water crisis.”
Jo Ann is the mother of Boyce’s dad, who told the website LABC of her: “My mom never made a big deal about her involvement with the Clinton 12, but she was always a huge advocate for education and also inclusion. It’s interesting to me that despite the hatred she endured from white Southerners in the ’50s, I’ve never heard my mom speak badly of white people. In fact, she taught us to be respectful of all people. She leads by example, and I think I’m a better person for it.”
Boyce’s Disney Channel bio also mentions Jo Ann Boyce. “In 2017, Boyce received a Daytime Emmy Award with Disney XD for ‘Outstanding Promotional Announcement’ in conjunction with his participation in their series ‘Timeless Heroes—Be Inspired,’ honoring Black History Month,” the bio reads. “He appeared alongside his grandmother Jo Ann Boyce, who was one of the famed Clinton 12, one of 12 black teens who were first to integrate into public school in Clinton, Tennessee.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley presented Jo Ann Boyce with a scroll in celebration of Women’s History Month. He released a statement that provided more information on her background. He said she was “one of 12 black teenagers in 1956 that would become known as The Clinton 12. She and 11 others were the first to integrate a public high school in the South after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.”
“Jo Ann Boyce has been a true trailblazer for women’s rights and desegregation,” he said of Cameron’s grandmother, adding, “Jo Ann Boyce was born Jo Ann Crozier Allen September, 1941 in the small riverfront town of Clinton in East Tennessee. She and her family lived in a primarily African American community where family, church and school were the foundations of the neighborhood…Jo Ann, her parents, sister and brother arrived in Los Angeles in December, 1956. She enrolled in and graduated from Dorsey High School in 1958. Following graduation, she enrolled at Los Angeles City College where she received an AA degree as well as a degree in nursing.”
She co-authored a children’s book called: “This Promise of Change; One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality.”
3. Boyce’s Mother Worked on Skid Row as a Health Worker & His Sister Just Turned 17
In the Dazed interview, Boyce also discussed his mother. “My mum was a social worker in health when the AIDS epidemic hit, and now she’s doing homeless coordinating and managing teams on Skid Row,” he told Dazed, explaining why he felt it was important to be a role model for other youths. His mother comes up in many online presentations dealing with homelessness on Los Angeles.
To Raw, he said of his mom: “…my mom, there are too many I can’t even. The best advice my mom probably gave me would just be to take the good from certain scenarios. Recognize the bad and do your best to cut it out, and then take whatever good you feel from, whether it’s a person or a scenario, and run with that as opposed to the negative.”
On Instagram, he talked about going to the Anne Frank house with his mom, Libby Boyce, writing, “Hard to find words to describe the feeling of walking through the Secret Annex… and to be able to experience that with my Mom of Jewish descent. Simply put, thank you Anne Frank.”
Macy Lillard, Cameron Boyce and Jazzy Satten speak onstage at WE Day California at The Forum on April 25, 2019 in Inglewood, California.
Boyce had a sister, Maya Boyce. “My sister is 17 today. That means she’s a year away from being an adult. However, today she told her (adult) brother that because it’s her birthday she should be ‘immune from the nerf gun.’ Cheers to (never) growing up. Lmao love you kid,” he wrote on Instagram 27 weeks before his death.
The Blast reported that, according to Boyce’s family, 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 family statement to The Blast continued: “It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron.”
In a statement to ABC News, the Disney Channel also mourned Cameron Boyce, saying, “From a young age, Cameron Boyce dreamed of sharing his extraordinary artistic talents with the world. As a young man, he was fueled 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.”
4. Boyce, Who Was Born & Raised in Los Angeles, Described His Dad as His ‘Best Friend’
According to his Disney Channel bio, Cameron Boyce was “born and raised in Los Angeles, California.”
“His love of performing began in a dance studio, which then transitioned him into commercials, and not long after television and film,” the bio reports.
In an interview with Raw, Boyce said that his dad “always talked about not wasting your talent, which is something that has sort of stuck with me. I would say that is a good one, for my career. He’s always been my best friend and he’s sort of been my light for me.” He recently wished his father a happy father’s day on Instagram.
On Twitter, Boyce’s father, Victor Boyce, describes himself as “Avid cyclist. Trail runner. Funk, Jazz, hip hop lover. Casual bassist. Lakers for life! Father of @TheCameronBoyce and @MayaBoyce_”
His dad told LACBC News, a biking website, “My children are mixed race. As such, it is extra important to me that they understand what their ancestors had to go through. Things my kids take for granted are things that people literally died for in order to obtain. Luckily for me, my kids are very smart. My wife and I made sure that that our children heard the stories, visited the places, and felt the pain of our history. I’m grateful for the people that paved the way for my lifestyle, and I think my children are too.”
Victor Boyce, the father of Cameron Boyce.
Cameron also discussed his sister to Raw, saying it was “hard for me to cope” that she had a boyfriend.
Boyce could be heard voicing the character of Jake on the Disney Junior animated show, “Jake and the Neverland Pirates.” According to ABC News, Boyce made his showbiz debut at the tender age of 9 in a horror movie called Mirrors. He also acted with Adam Sandler in the movie Grown Ups before moving on to Disney Channel fame.
On the Disney show Jessie, he played Luke Ross.
5. Boyce’s Grandfather Is From the Caribbean & He Once Described Himself as ‘Bl-ewish’
Boyce discussed his ethnicity to Raw.
“Oh man. Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “I’m a lot of different European. I know my grandfather is from the Caribbean. And my grandmother is… You know, I’m sure they both have lineage in Africa because I’m black. I like to say that I’m bl-ewish, I’m black and I’m Jewish. So you know, me and Drake, we got that in common.”
A day ago, as if nothing was amiss, Cameron Boyce posted a last photo on Instagram, which you can see above. Fans are already filling up his Instagram account with comments about his death. Boyce had 8.3 million followers on his Instagram page, which you can see here.
“i cannot believe this :(” wrote one. “Damn R.I.P…this is crazy,” wrote another. Another wrote simply: “R.I.P. Cameron.”
Twitter also filled up with tributes. “rip cameron boyce :( send love. you never know what could happen. tell those you love that you appreciate them. I pray for those close to him,” wrote one woman.
READ NEXT: Fans Leave Tributes to Cameron Boyce on His Last Instagram Post