‘Walking Dead’ Actress Passes Away At 33

One of AMC’s youngest actresses from the hit zombie series “The Walking Dead” died this week at just 33 years old.

Kelley Mack, who played recurring characters on “Walking Dead” as well as the hospital drama “Chicago Med,” died Saturday in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, her family confirmed. She had been battling glioma, a form of cancer that affects the central nervous system, for several years and had written publicly about her struggles on the health blog Caringbridge.

“It is with indelible sadness that we are announcing the passing of our dear Kelley,” her sister, Kathryn Klebenow, announced on Mack’s Instagram page Tuesday.

“Such a bright, fervent light has transitioned to the beyond, where we all eventually must go.”

“Kelley passed peacefully on Saturday evening with her loving mother Kristen and steadfast aunt Karen present,” the Instagram post added. “Kelley has already come to many of her loved ones in the form of various butterflies. She will be missed by so many to depths that words cannot express.”

On her blog, Mack, whose given name was Kelley Lynne Klebenow, wrote that she began suffering from “persistent lower back pain” in October 2024.

In less than a month, Mack’s condition worsened so much that she was admitted to the ER on Thanksgiving. She underwent an MRI which allowed doctors to discover “an abnormal mass” growing on her spine.

It was in January when Mack was diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma, a rare tumor that begins its growth on the spine or in the brain, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“Due to the biopsy surgery on my spinal cord, I have lost the use of my right leg and most of my left leg, so I now get around with a walker and a wheelchair,” Mack said.

Writing about her journey helped Mack cope with some of its most difficult chapters, including “re-learning how to walk,” according to a blog entry from March.

“Life has also had its ups and downs lately am I right,” Mack quipped.

From an early age, Mack took acting opportunities wherever they appeared. Her first film role was in “The Elephant Garden,” which won the Student Visionary Award at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, the NY Post reported.

She will be most remembered for her role as “Addy,” a resident of Hilltop Colony whose “Walking Dead” character appeared over five episodes in season nine of the show.

“I was only supposed to be in 2 episodes originally, so I was grateful to have been able to work on five of them and hadn’t anticipated that I’d stay on the show for too long,” Mack told Alternative Mindz in 2019.

Mack is survived by her mother and father, Kristen and Lindsay Klebenow, sister Kathryn, brother Parker, and grandparents Lois and Larry Klebenow. Her funeral will be on August 16.