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Kelley Mack, ‘The Walking Dead’ Star, Dies at 33—Did the Cosmos Have a Dark Twist in Store?

Added on August 5, 2025 inTV News Cards

Isn’t it something—underneath the ever-shifting skies and cosmic jumbles, another star quietly dims too soon? Kelley Mack, the vivacious spirit who lit up AMC’s The Walking Dead as Addy and lent her voice to the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, has passed away at just 33 after bravely battling a glioma. Born under the fiercely creative sign of Cancer, one can’t help but wonder if the celestial energy that made her a storyteller and performer was also the fire that made her so fiercely vibrant until the very end. From acting-studded commercials that crossed paths with our everyday lives to her ambitious work behind the scenes as an executive producer, Kelley’s journey was as layered and compelling as the scripts she penned alongside her mom. Let’s take a moment to honor not just the roles she played but the life, passion, and indelible mark she left on those lucky enough to know her—or simply watch her work unfold. LEARN MORE

Kelley Mack, who played the Hilltop Colony resident Addy on the ninth season of AMC’s The Walking Dead in 2018-19, died Saturday in her birthplace of Cincinnati after a battle with glioma of the central nervous system. She was 33.

Mack also appeared on episodes of Fox’s 9-1-1 in 2019 and NBC’s Chicago Med in 2022 and did lots of commercials, showing up in spots for Dr Pepper (in the fictional town of Fansville), Ross Stores, Budweiser, Eli Lilly, Dairy Queen, Chick-fil-A and, with her mom, Rakuten.

She recorded for the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) as the voice match for Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy and voiced the character for a 2024 Hyundai Ioniq commercial as well.

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Her big-screen credits included Broadcast Signal Intrusion (2021), Delicate Arch (2024) and the soon-to-be-released Universal (2025), on which she also served as executive producer.

She lived and worked in the Los Angeles area for the past 11 years.

The oldest of three kids, Kelley Lynne Klebenow was born in Cincinnati on July 10, 1992, and raised in Wyoming, Ohio; Mount Lookout, Ohio; Ellisville, Missouri; Avon, Connecticut; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Hinsdale, Illinois.

Her love for storytelling blossomed as a youngster when she received a mini video camera as a birthday gift.

She acted in commercials as a child and earned an award from Tisch School of the Arts for her turn as Chloe in The Elephant Garden (2008), which also won the Student Visionary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Mack graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in 2010 and earned a bachelor’s degree in Cinematography from the Dodge College of Film at Chapman University in 2014.

She also wrote with her mom several feature scripts, including On the Black, a 1950s-era college baseball story loosely based on her maternal grandparents as students at Ohio University.

As her family noted, Mack was an accomplished college tennis player and loved hiking, pickleball, biking, playing piano and traveling. Some of her other loves: dark chocolate, sports, bourbon, popcorn, fantasy football, stuffed (and real) animals, country music and talking in a British accent and as a life-long smoker.

Survivors include her parents, Kristen and Lindsay; sister Kathryn; brother Parker, also an actor; grandparents Lois and Larry; and her “dearest boyfriend,” Logan.

A remembrance of her life is set for 1 p.m. on Aug. 16 at the Glendale Lyceum in Glendale, Ohio. Her family is also planning a celebration of her life in L.A. for friends and colleagues in the area.

“Her vibrant spirit, creative passion and dedication to storytelling left an indelible mark on those who knew her and the audiences she captivated through her work,” her family said.

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