{"id":515020,"date":"2026-03-03T02:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T02:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515020\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T02:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T02:04:14","slug":"eric-danes-cause-of-death-revealed-almost-two-weeks-after-the-greys-anatomy-star-died-aged-53","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515020\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Dane’s cause of death revealed almost two weeks after the Grey’s Anatomy star died aged 53"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cause of death for Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane<\/a> has been revealed almost two weeks after he died aged 53.<\/p>\n

According to People<\/a>, who obtained a copy of his death certificate, Dane’s cause of death<\/a> was respitatory failure, while an underlying cause was Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or motor neurone disease<\/a>, as it is known in Australia.<\/p>\n

The rare but deadly neurodegenerative disorder, which is sometimes known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects the motor nerves that allow a person to move, swallow, talk and eventually breathe.<\/p>\n

Watch the videos above.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"EricEric Dane’s cause of death has been revealed. (Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The disease has an average life expectancy of about two-and-a-half\ufeff years from diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Others, like Dane, will not make it that long. The actor is thought to have had an aggressive form of the disease, given the speed it progressed.<\/p>\n

He shared the news of his diagnosis in an exclusive interview with People in April 2025.<\/p>\n

Just two months later, during an interview with Good Morning America journalist Diane Sawyer, he had lost all use of his right side.<\/p>\n

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READ MORE: Kyle Sandilands shares major update on Jackie O return<\/a>\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"ericDane spent his final months advocating for a cure for the disease. (Instagram\/realericdane)<\/p>\n

\ufeffWhile he acknowledged the seriousness of the diagnosis, \ufeffhe vowed not to give up.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think this is the end of my story,” he said. “I don’t feel like this is the end of me.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

But the end came quickly for the much-loved actor, who spent his final months advocating for a cure for the disease after\ufeff becoming an ambassador for ‘I Am ALS’.\ufeff<\/p>\n

He went to Washington as part of Push for Progress, which hoped to secure US$1 billion in funding to fight the disease.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\ufeff”I think it’s imperative that I share my journey with as many people as I can because I don’t feel like my life is about me anymore,” he said in December during the virtual event.<\/p>\n

“And it’s something I’ve had to wrestle with because I’m a pretty selfish person, and I’d love for my life to be all about me, but I just can’t \u2013 I don’t think I’d be able to move forward if that were the case.”<\/p>\n

Dane’s death was announced on February 19, in the US.<\/p>\n

\"EricDane with daughters Georgia and Billie in 2024. (Variety via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” said a statement from Dane’s family that was shared with People.\ufeff<\/p>\n

“He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the centre of his world.<\/p>\n

“Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight.<\/p>\n

“He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.<\/p>\n

“The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”<\/p>\n

A video recording containing his final words to his daughters was later released.<\/p>\n

The almost five-minute long message filmed by Netflix ended with the words, “Billie and Georgia, you are my heart. You are my everything. Good night. I love you. Those are my last words.”\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"E\ufeffricDane shared his final words for his daughters in a video released after his death. (YouTube)<\/p>\n

Dane was married to actress Rebecca Gayheart from 2004.<\/p>\n

The couple, who shared two daughters, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13, separated in 2018, and Gayheart later filed for divorce but withdrew the petition following his diagnosis.\ufeff<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe set up by his friends following his death has so far raised $476,000 for his daughters.\ufeff<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cause of death for Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane has been revealed almost two weeks after he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-515020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}