‘Walking Dead’ actress ‘passed peacefully’ of complications from glioma, her family says

Kelley Mack, an actress finest recognized for her function as Addy on the tv collection The Strolling Lifeless, died final weekend, her household introduced on Tuesday. She was 33.

Mack was recognized with glioma, an aggressive tumor that impacts the central nervous system, final yr.

“It’s with indelible disappointment that we’re saying the passing of our expensive Kelley,” her sister, Kathryn Klebenow, stated in an announcement posted to her Instagram web page. “Such a shiny, fervent mild has transitioned to the past, the place all of us ultimately should go.”

Mack “handed peacefully” on Saturday night surrounded by family members at her dwelling in Cincinnati, Klebenow’s word stated.

She is survived by Kathryn; her brother, Parker; her dad and mom, Kristen and Lindsay Klebenow; her grandparents, Lois and Larry Klebenow; and her boyfriend, Logan Lanier.

“She would need you all to know the way a lot she loves you,” Klebenow added. “And as her sister, I need you all to know the way courageous that powerful SOB was, particularly when she determined to make the leap to be reunited with God. I’m so f***ing happy with her.

What’s glioma?

In line with the Mayo Clinic, a glioma is a development of cells that begins within the mind or spinal wire.

The cells ultimately kind a tumor that “can develop to press on mind or spinal wire tissue,” in response to the Mayo Clinic.

The tumors could be benign or malignant, and signs can embrace complications, nausea, seizures, fatigue, or weak spot within the arms or legs, relying on which a part of the mind or spinal wire is affected.

In January, Mack revealed in an Instagram put up that she had began experiencing “persistent decrease again ache” in fall 2024, which led her to imagine she had slipped a disc.

“A couple of weeks later, I had neuropathic itching in my proper quad,” she defined. “After which, the capturing pains in my legs and again started, which resulted in me having to sleep in a recliner for a month as a result of laying down was too painful.”

The day earlier than Thanksgiving, she had an emergency MRI, which revealed an irregular mass in her spinal wire. After having biopsy surgical procedure on her spinal wire, she stated she misplaced most of using her legs, “so I now get round with a walker and a wheelchair.”

She was recognized with astrocytoma, or diffuse midline glioma, a uncommon kind of cancerous tumor, and commenced radiation therapy in January.

A ‘love for storytelling’

Mack was born Kelley Lynne Klebenow on July 10, 1992, in Cincinnati.

In line with a bio posted by her household on the Caring Bridge web site, Kelley’s “love for storytelling” started at a younger age when she was given a mini video digital camera as a birthday present.

“This sparked a lifelong ardour for the humanities, main her to start appearing in commercials as a baby.”

After graduating highschool in Hinsdale, Unwell., she enrolled on the Dodge Faculty of Movie and Media Arts at Chapman College in Orange, Calif., the place she earned a bachelor’s diploma in cinematography in 2014.

In line with IMDB, Mack has 35 appearing credit, together with The Strolling Lifeless, Chicago Med and 9-1-1.

‘An unimaginable human’

Tributes have begun to pour in from followers, pals and fellow actors.

“What an unimaginable human,’ Alanna Masterson, who costarred with Mack in The Strolling Lifeless, wrote on Instagram. “So proud to have fought alongside her in our ultimate episode collectively.”

“That is heartbreaking,” Gustavo Gomez, one other Strolling Lifeless co-star, wrote. “I really feel so fortunate that our paths crossed. Your shiny mild will at all times shine on.”

Michael Satrazemis, the present’s director, added: “I used to be fortunate sufficient to create with Kelley on TWD. A shiny mild on each stage. All my like to those that love her.”

Mack’s household stated it can host a “celebration and recognition of Kelley’s life” on the Glendale Lyceum in Glendale, Ohio, on Aug. 16. The household can be planning to carry a celebration of Mack’s life at a future date within the Los Angeles space.