Martial arts legend and actor Chuck Norris has died at age 86. His family announced his death on Friday, March 20.
His family said the action hero died suddenly on Thursday morning.
“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” a family statement read. “While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
Norris was rushed to a hospital following an undisclosed medical emergency near his home in Hawaii. He celebrated his 86th birthday on March 10.
Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma, and later moved with his mother and two brothers to Torrance, California, after his parents divorced.
He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1958 and was sent to Osan Air Base, South Korea. There, Norris acquired the nickname “Chuck” and began his training in Tang Soo Do.
Norris held black belts in Judo, Brazilian Jui-Jitsu, Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do and his own martial art Chun Kuk Do.
In 1968, Norris made his big screen debut with a minor role in The Wrecking Crew.
In 1972, the martial arts teacher and karate champion was cast by Bruce Lee in his breakthrough role in “Return of the Dragon.”
Norris went on to star in Good Guys Wear Black (1978), The Octagon (1980), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Code of Silence (1985), and Firewalker (1986).
In 1993, Norris was cast as the lead in the long-running CBS crime series, “Walker, Texas Ranger.”
Norris met his second wife, Gena O’Kelley, on 1997 while on a date with another woman. He married Gena, a model 23 years his junior, in 1998.
They welcomed fraternal twins, Dakota and Danilee, in 2001. They remained married until his death.
Norris also had a daughter named Dina (born 1962) from an extramarital relationship when he was married to his first wife, Dianne Kay Holechek. Norris and Holechek had two sons, Mike and Eric. She died in 2025.
