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Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce was of bi-racial descent; his father, Victor Boyce, is black and his mother, Libby Boyce, is Jewish. He grew up with a variety of culture in his life, of which he was very proud.
Boyce had a very unique look and had a lot of freckles on his face. While that may bother some kids, Boyce said that he “never hated” his freckles.
“I never hated my freckles actually. It’s funny, I’m in good spirits about my freckles always, I always have been. But there are times when a kid will look at me and go, ‘What is wrong with your face? Do you have like chicken pox? What are the dots on your face?’ I never really, you know… You just gotta laugh it off, ’cause these are going to be here forever. It’s not like I can get rid of them, or want to get rid of them. Just got to love what you got,” he told Raw Pages in 2017.
On Saturday night, news that Boyce had died broke. The 20-year-old passed away after suffering a seizure in his sleep. According to a statement from his family, the seizure was caused by an ongoing medical issue. Further details about that medical issue were not released.
“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,” a spokesperson told ABC News on behalf of the Boyce family.
Here’s what you need to know:
He Referred to Himself as ‘Bl-ewish’
Boyce’s ethnicity was a topic of conversation in a few interviews and he was always very open about his background. Since he couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly what his ethnicity was, he actually made up a word that seemed to fit him perfectly.
In a 2017 interview with Raw Pages, Boyce was asked about his ethnicity.
“Oh man. Your guess is as good as mine. 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,” he told the outlet.
When it comes to being “mixed and different,” Boyce told Raw Pages that he “loved” it.
“I always sort of knew that just because… I mean, when you’re mixed, and I know a lot of mixed people can relate to this, people sort of place you in a weird category. Especially if you have freckles, or if you’re really light with curly hair, or if there’s something different about you, green eyes, something weird. Not weird, but different. And as a kid, I always sort of liked the fact that I didn’t look like everybody else. Some people struggle with the fact that they don’t look like everybody else, but it’s totally what makes you beautiful and unique. I would say, don’t worry about who looks the same, and who looks different. I’ve always sort of known that I was mixed and different, and I’ve always loved it,” he said.
He Had a Moving Experience at the Anne Frank House With His Mom
Boyce is very close to his parents and his sister, Maya. His mom, Libby, was a health worker on Skid Row. He told Raw Pages that the best advice his mom ever gave him was “to take the good from certain scenarios.”
Libby Boyce is Jewish and shared her faith and background with her kids. In September 2017, Libby visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam with Cameron. The two shared a memorable experience together and Cameron posted a photo from the trip on Instagram.
“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,” he captioned the pic.
Cameron was also close to his dad, Victor. The best advice he ever gave his son? “Don’t waste your talent.”
Victor Boyce describes himself as a “husband, dad, car guy, [and] cyclist,” according to his Instagram bio. Victor’s dad was of Caribbean descent.
Victor’s mother, Jo Ann Boyce, was one of “The Clinton 12.”
“My Nana stuck up for what she believed in and did something amazing. Things are going to happen in your life and you’re going to face adversity, but if you grow from that and learn from that, you’re a better person because of it,” a 16-year-old Cameron told People Magazine back in 2016.
Cameron Considered Himself ‘More Spiritual’
Cameron had a positive upbringing and his parents seemed open to letting both of their kids really discover who they are. Cameron previously said that he didn’t consider himself to be “particularly religious” but talked about how he’d gotten “more spiritual” lately.
“Recently I’ve gotten way more spiritual than I ever have been. I’ve never been particularly religious but I have recently acknowledged the universe and [its] crazy powers, and that will probably fluctuate for the rest of my life,” he said. “But I believe in a lot of things that you hear, I believe in karma, I believe that things happen for a reason. I believe that if you put an energy out into the universe, you’ll receive it back,” he told Raw Pages.
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Cameron Boyce’s Nationality, Ethnicity & Background