Cameron Boyce's Co-Stars Still Aren't Over His Tragic Death

Cameron Boyce was a bright light on the Disney Channel, starring in hit series "Jessie" and in the popular film franchise "Descendants." Boyce was well on his way to building a Hollywood career outside of the network when the Disney star tragically passed away in his sleep in 2019 due to a seizure caused by epilepsy. He was just 20 years old, and his family and friends were heartbroken.

Tributes quickly began pouring in as Boyce's autopsy revealed heartbreaking details and new information about his untimely death, like the fact that he had been texting his dad just hours before he passed. Earlier that evening, Boyce had enjoyed dinner with his whole family on what seemed like a normal night. "There was no way to know in hours my son would be dead," his dad, Victor Boyce, told Good Morning America. "It was just staggeringly crazy and horrible."

Given how much he was loved, how young he was, and the unexpected nature of his death, it's no wonder that many of Boyce's loved ones are still struggling to come to terms with the loss. Here are all of the co-stars who fell in love with Boyce's sweet nature and who still aren't over his tragic death.

Skai Jackson was just 9 years old when she was cast in Disney Channel's "Jessie" opposite Cameron Boyce. They would go on to work together for four seasons, during which time an unbreakable friendship blossomed. "We just really built this bond for years and years and years, and he was kind of like a big brother figure to me," Jackson proclaimed while competing on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2020, per People. "He really molded me into the person that I am now." 

Because of that unique relationship, Jackson chose to dedicate a dance — the foxtrot, to be precise — to her late friend, who loved both the show and dancing in general. Speaking with her pro partner, Alan Jackson, Skai Jackson said she missed Boyce's presence every day, but revealed, "I have him on my phone case, so I get to see him."

The touching tribute was praised by the show's judges (Jackson even received the first 10 of the season), as well as by Boyce's family. Speaking with People (the TV Show!), Boyce's mom, Libby, enthused, "For Skai to have the opportunity to share her love of Cameron in that way was just really special and touching." Boyce's dad, Victor, agreed, adding, "She really projected grace, and it was just heartfelt."

One of the people who was hit the hardest by Cameron Boyce's tragic death was his best friend and "Jessie" co-star Karan Brar. The pair had just moved in together when the unthinkable happened and, as Brar told the "Empty Inside" podcast, per Teen Vogue, in 2021, "[Losing] Cameron shifted everything in my life on its axis, and that was incredibly destabilizing."

While he didn't go into great detail at the time, Brar later wrote a candid essay for Teen Vogue in 2023, opening up about Boyce's death affected his mental health and how the tragedy changed him forever. "His death threw my already-fragile sense of self into a tailspin," the actor revealed. From that moment on, he was on a self-professed downward spiral, which was exacerbated by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. "I refused to acknowledge how much pain I was in and isolated myself in a deeply unhealthy relationship with alcohol," he wrote. 

Brar told fans he considered suicide, which ultimately drove him to seek help. "I decided to admit myself into an inpatient treatment center for my depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts," he recalled, noting how treatment and medication helped put him on the road to recovery. "I'm no longer drowning in the grief of losing Cameron," he concluded. "Rather, I'm in acceptance of grief being an ever changing experience I just have to see through."

In addition to "Jessie," one of Cameron Boyce's biggest roles was in Disney Channel's "Descendants" franchise. As Boyce's co-star and BFF, Dove Cameron, told ET in 2019, she simply couldn't imagine the series without him. "I don't love the idea of doing it without Cameron," she admitted when asked if there was potential for a fourth film. "I don't know what the plot would be and I don't know what it would look like." 

Cameron has spoken many times about how much she misses her friend. She again shared a similar sentiment on a 2020 episode of the Chicks In the Office podcast, saying, "It would be really, really hard on the cast to do a film without Cameron." Indeed, even watching "Descendants 3" proved to be difficult. "I was wrecked," she told Yahoo! "I wrote for ages and mourned the loss of it so much."

However, Cameron also tried to see the flip side of possibly reprising her "Descendants" role a fourth time, telling Chicks In the Office it might prove to be cathartic. "I'm sure there's a part that would feel very healing and very much like we're coming home," she mused.

Jadah Marie had been a longtime fan of Disney Channel's "Descendants" series when she was joined the franchise in the third installment. "It's literally a fairytale — a dream come true," she enthused to Carrie's Chronicles in 2019. "It's crazy to think about how one year, I was at the red carpet premiere of 'Descendants 2' as the biggest fan ever and the next, I was in Vancouver working with the cast in the franchise." 

Joining the franchise was a positive, joyous experience for Marie, but it would soon turn bittersweet. Boyce died just a few days before the "Descendants 3" premiere, so the red carpet event was scrapped and a special two-minute tribute was added to the movie.

The cast was completely heartbroken, but as Marie later told J-14 in 2022, she would forever cherish her and Boyce's time together. Recalling one particular encounter that still stood out in her mind, she, like many of Boyce's other friends, honed in on his kindness. "The first-ever person who, honestly, gave me the biggest hug was Cameron Boyce," she shared. "I remember walking in and he just gave me the biggest hug and he was like, 'Welcome to the crew kid.'"

While some of the original "Descendants" main cast may have toyed with the idea of returning for a fourth film after Cameron Boyce's death, only China Anne McClain ultimately agreed to appear in 2024's "Descendants: The Rise of Red." It wasn't an easy decision, but reprising her role as Uma allowed her to pay tribute to her late friend on screen. In one particularly emotional scene, Uma, who had become the principal of Auradon Prep, argued that the school should be open to all. Pointing to a photo of Boyce's character, she explained, "It's what Carlos would have wanted."

Speaking about her decision, McClain told People, "I was apprehensive to revisit the 'Descendants' world at first, because losing Cam was the first heartbreak I've ever experienced." However, when she saw how excited fans were about the movie and learned of the tribute, she signed on. "Stepping back into Uma was very fulfilling, and healing for me," she shared.

Kylie Cantrall, one of the new faces in "Descendants: The Rise of Red," told J-14 that Boyce actually played a special role in the shoot for everyone. "We could feel his essence and just his incredible spirit with us while we were filming," she shared.

Shortly after Cameron Boyce's sudden death in 2019, his parents, Libby and Victor Boyce, launched The Cameron Boyce Foundation to help raise awareness about and find a cure for epilepsy. The foundation also aimed to support various causes that were important to their son. In just two years, they raised over $1 million.

Since then, many of Boyce's friends have gotten involved in the initiative, including "Jessie" star Peyton List. In 2023, she actually joined the foundation's board as a tribute to her late co-star. "There's so much I want to do to keep Cameron's legacy alive and help towards the goal of curing epilepsy," she explained in a message posted to Instagram. "Cameron will always continue to show me what it means to give back." 

She again spoke about his inspirational drive to help others while walking the red carpet at the foundation's annual charity gala in 2024. Sharing her fondest memories of Boyce with the foundation's TikTok account, List noted how even as a child he never had to be pushed to help, he simply wanted to do so on his own. "Cameron was just always that kid and he was constantly thinking about others," she shared.

Peyton List hasn't been the only one of Cameron Boyce's friends to team up with The Cameron Boyce Foundation. In 2021, "Descendants" alum Sofia Carson (who is also on the charity's advisory board) unveiled a fashion collaboration dubbed the #SofiaxTCBF collection. It featured a T-shirt, sweatshirt, and denim jacket emblazoned with the phrase "We can change the world" on the front and a sketch of a tree drawn by Boyce on the back. 

All proceeds from sales of the line benefitted the foundation, and Carson modeled some of the pieces on Instagram. However, she noted that the jacket was the most special piece. "When I think of Cam, I think of him in his favorite jean jacket," she wrote. "It was quite simply, him." Indeed, she shared a second post, this one a video of her friend wearing said jacket, which she captioned, "To the boy who changed our world, keep smiling." Speaking with People, Carson further praised her late co-star and his artistic skills, gushing, "He was more talented than anyone that I've ever known."

Carson previously opened up about losing Boyce to ET in 2020 on the one-year anniversary of his death. "His soul will live on forever in his legacy because he's loved by so many," she told the outlet. "I think his sister put it so beautifully — that he was sunshine wearing shoes."

He may have built his career on the Disney Channel, but Cameron Boyce also had some impressive big screen credits to his name. For one, he played Adam Sandler's son, Keithie, in both "Grown Ups" and "Grown Ups 2," and it seems he left quite an impression on the comedian. 

Sandler was one of the first to post a touching tribute to Instagram in 2019 when news of Boyce's death broke, writing how Boyce was truly special in the way he cared about his family and the world around him. "Just the nicest, most talented, and most decent kid around," he wrote. Jump to 2020, and Sandler marked what would have been Boyce's 21st birthday with another touching post, writing on Facebook, "Such a great kid. We all miss him a lot."

That same year, Sandler also paid tribute to Boyce in the 2020 Netflix movie "Hubie Halloween." During the end credits, a picture of Boyce is shown alongside yet another sweet message. "Gone way too soon and one of the kindest, coolest, funniest, and most talented kids we knew," it reads, per People. "You live on forever in our hearts and are truly missed every day."

While Jenna Ortega and Cameron Boyce never collaborated onscreen, their careers brought them together repeatedly. Both actors got their big breaks at Disney Channel around the same time and, as Ortega told fans in 2019, she'll never forget their first (unconventional) encounter. 

In a since-deleted Instagram tribute saved by Just Jared Jr., Ortega praised Boyce for his ability to make people smile, dubbing him one of the nicest people she knew. That was evident from the moment they first met; Ortega shared that she was heading in for an audition and Boyce happened to be skateboarding outside the "Jessie" set. "He rode past me with his arms reaching for a high five, shouting 'Good luck! You're gonna do awesome!'" she wrote. "I looked at my mom with the biggest grin on my face."

Ortega was just 11 then, but the duo would go on to build a solid friendship. When she was around 15, they even auditioned for a film together in which they were meant to play love interests. Once again, Boyce proved how kind-hearted he was, as Ortega voiced her discomfort in having to kiss her friend. "We both just kinda looked at each other and we were like, 'No, we can't do this,'" Ortega recalled in a 2024 interview with French TV outlet Canal+. Boyce, who was a few years older, stepped up and brought the audition to an end. "It was so sweet because I was uncomfortable and I was having a hard time," she said. "I remember being really thankful and grateful that he did that."

Yara Shahidi met Cameron Boyce when they were 4 years old and, as she told fans on Instagram, she immediately knew how special he was. "Since that moment it has been clear how talented/ how kind/ how full of energy and love you are," she wrote in 2019. 

Shahidi shared that she decided to help carry on his legacy of doing good for others. She appeared on the charity-focused Quibi show "Thanks A Million" in 2020 and donated $100,000 to his parents so they could pay it forward. "Cameron's light extended to the many communities he was committed to serving," she explained in a clip posted to Instagram. "I remain endlessly inspired by his work and the work his family and close friends continue with the @thecameronboycefoundation."

And it seems Boyce's parents have been inspired by Shahidi, too. In 2023, she was honored with The Cameron Boyce Foundation's Youth Empowerment Award in recognition of everything she's done to support women's rights, civil rights, and more. In a statement released ahead of the gala, she again praised Boyce's impact, saying, per The Hollywood Reporter, "His talent, his fearlessness, and his belief in the power of his peers was evident."