Eric Dane, Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria star, dies at 53

In April 2025, the actor announced he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Eric Dane, the actor best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, and who later costarred on HBO’s Euphoria, died on Thursday at the age of 53, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), his family confirmed.

“With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world,” the statement read. “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. 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. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”

In April 2025, the actor revealed he had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which is a progressive and fatal nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control; therefore, it affects patients’ ability to breathe, speak, and move, according to the Mayo Clinic. There is no cure, though some patients can live for decades.

Dane was born in San Francisco on Nov. 9, 1972, and raised in nearby San Mateo County. He moved to Los Angeles soon after high school, and quickly found work on television dramas and situation comedies. His first gig was a 1991 appearance on Saved by the Bell as “Tad,” an egotistical hunk who gets bonked on the head during a game of beach volleyball. 

Other early jobs included appearances on The Wonder Years, Roseanne, Married With Children, and Silk Stalkings. His first recurring (and prescient) role was Dr. Wyatt Cooper on the ABC medical drama Gideon’s Crossing costarring Andrew Braugher and Rubén Blades. Though the series only lasted one season, it led to consistent work for Dane, including several episodes of the fantasy series Charmed, an appearance as “Tex” Watson in a 2004 adaptation of the Manson Family story Helter Skelter, and a superhero gig as Multiple Man, one of Magneto’s “bad” mutants in Brett Ratner’s 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand. As recently as 2024, Dane was hoping to suit up again as part of the expanding and multifaceted Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying “Multiple Man would make a great standalone movie.”

But in 2006, Dane made his debut on Grey’s Anatomy’s second season as Dr. Mark Everett Sloan, a plastic surgeon whose hunky looks and ribald nature earned him the nom de guerre of McSteamy. (Dane’s death actually fell on the 20th anniversary of his first appearance on the show.) By the third season of ABC’s hit medical drama, he was a series regular, and made a bit of television history with a rather photogenic exit from a shower. Indeed, the “terrible towel” moment ranked number one on Entertainment Weekly’s Top McSteamy Moments.

During his very first talk show appearance onThe Ellen Show that same year, Dane joked about the famous scene and the use of double-stick tape to an audience of screaming women, clearly enjoying the crowd’s appreciative mewls and hollers.

After two season 9 appearances, Dane left the series in 2012, when McSteamy succumbed to injuries he endured after the season 8 cliffhanger plane crash (he was en route to Boise from Seattle to perform surgery on conjoined twins) that did in in his colleague Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh). Dane also made an appearance on Grey’s in 2021, when Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) had COVID and was having vivid dreams. 

During the Grey’s Anatomy off seasons, he appeared in films like Burlesque and Valentine’s Day. 

In 2012, he starred on (and co-produced) The Last Ship, a military thriller about a navy vessel parked near Antarctica that survives a pandemic that wipes out 80 percent of the world’s population. The series, which costarred Rhona Mitra and Adam Baldwin, lasted five seasons, concluding in November 2018 (which just so happened to be 13 months before the first reported case of COVID-19).

In 2019, Dane costarred in Sam Levinson’s adaptation of the Israeli series Euphoria for HBO as Cal Jacobs, Jacob Elordi‘s closeted bisexual father, who has an affair with Hunter Schafer’s transgender character Jules Vaughan. 

Concerning the risqué show’s use of prosthetic appendages, Dane said, “I’m done with the prosthetics! Let’s retire the prosthetics, but it was fun while it lasted.”

After Dane’s diagnosis of ALS, he went on the offensive, spreading awareness of the disease on behalf of the organization I AM ALS.

“I don’t think anybody would blame me if I went upstairs in my bedroom, crawled under the sheets, and spent the next two weeks crying,” the actor said. “I have no reason to be in a good spirit at any time, on any given day.”

Still, he wanted to ensure people were informed about ALS in order to “combat it and improve the landscape.”

He continued, “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. 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 — I don’t think I’d be able to move forward if that were the case.”

In December 2025, he announced that he had written an autobiography called Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments. His decision to do so came from “wak[ing] up every morning, and [being] immediately reminded that this is real — this illness, this challenge and that’s exactly why I’m writing this book.” 

He added, “I want to capture the moments that shaped me — the beautiful days, the hard ones, the ones I never took for granted — so that if nothing else, people who read it will remember what it means to live with heart. If sharing this helps someone find meaning in their own days, then my story is worth telling.” 

Dane and actress Rebecca Gayheart wed in 2004 and later had two children. The couple separated in 2017, and Gayheart filed for a divorce petition in 2018. However, she filed to dismiss the petition for divorce about a month before Dane announced his diagnosis.

In a later interview, Gayheart explained that the pair maintained homes quite close to one another, and that “it’s a very complicated relationship, one that’s confusing for people.”

She added that “our love may not be romantic, but it’s a familial love.”‘

During a conversation with Diane Sawyer from June 2025, Dane said he was “grateful to have my loving family by my side as we navigate this next chapter.”

Dane is survived by Gayheart and their two daughters, Billie and Georgia.