A terrible tragedy. Josh Gad’s nephew, Marco, has been found dead after passing away in his sleep at the age of 20.
“Thank you for all your love,” the Frozen star, 41, wrote via Twitter on Sunday, June 26, to mourn the loss of his family member. “Our beloved nephew Marco passed away in his sleep at 20, his life cut far too short and our pain far too deep. Our family is trying to make sense of it but your support has been incredible.”
After sharing the heartbreaking news, a slew of fans and celebrity friends took to social media to support the Central Park star.
“So sorry for your loss, brother. Sending love,” LeVar Burton commented at the time, while actor Bradley Whitford wrote, “Love, love, love to all of you, Josh. May his memory be a blessing.”
The Florida native returned to Instagram on Monday to share a handful of photos in honor of his late family member.
“Today I write this with a broken heart,” he captioned the carousel of snaps which included the young activist throughout the years. “Our beloved nephew Marco has left us far too early. At 20 years old, he was full of possibility and promise. To say he is gone far too soon does not do justice to the life force that he was.
The Wolf Like Me star also asked fans to “send positive energy and love” to the family to “help me honor him now and celebrate a life that was only just beginning” as “his parents try to work this impossible pain.”
Gad then praised his nephew, calling him a “brilliant, creative and loving soul” who “fought to make the world a better place and stood on the side of rustic and light for those who need it most,” adding, “His life may be gone, but I hope and pray his memory will endure.”
On Friday, the Beauty and the Beast actor, who shares daughters Ava, 11, and Isabella, 8, with wife Ida Darvish, alluded to Marco’s death by saying he was suffering an “unimaginable loss” while learning of the “heartbreaking” supreme court ruling, ending federal abortion protections. Gad promised to be “a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold or a partner to fight alongside” to “any women in fear” following SCOTUS’ overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“They want us to be apathetic. We can’t. They want us to crumble. We don’t,” he wrote via Twitter at the time. “They want us to concede more rights and freedoms. We won’t. Grieve today. Fight tomorrow. I will be right there with you.”
A cause of death has not yet been announced.
