{"id":91314,"date":"2026-05-06T05:59:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-star-was-54-2\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T05:59:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T05:59:35","slug":"buffy-the-vampire-slayer-star-was-54-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-star-was-54-2\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Buffy the Vampire Slayer&#8217; Star Was 54"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE:<\/strong> Brendon\u2019s cause of death has now been revealed as atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n<p>According to TMZ, the late actor had a 90 percent blockage in one of his arteries and had previously suffered a heart attack.<\/p>\n<p>A friend who had been staying with Brendon reported that he had complained of chest pain but had declined a hospital visit and was self-medicating with over-the-counter medications.<\/p>\n<p>Read on for our original coverage of Brendon\u2019s shocking death.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1707\" height=\"1156\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663.jpg\" alt=\"Nicholas Brendon attends the &quot;Ms. In The Biz&quot; book launch party co-hosted by FilmBreak and presented by Dog &amp; Pony on February 9, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. \" class=\"wp-image-551135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-1024x693.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-960x650.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-1080x731.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-1200x813.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\"\/><\/noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1707\" height=\"1156\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663.jpg\" alt=\"Nicholas Brendon attends the &quot;Ms. In The Biz&quot; book launch party co-hosted by FilmBreak and presented by Dog &amp; Pony on February 9, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. \" class=\"wp-image-551135 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663.jpg 1707w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-1024x693.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-960x650.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-1080x731.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663-1200x813.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nicholas Brendon attends the \u201cMs. In The Biz\u201d book launch party co-hosted by FilmBreak and presented by Dog &amp; Pony on February 9, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. <span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo by Araya Diaz\/Getty Images for Ms. In The Biz)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We have tragic news to report from the world of television:<\/p>\n<p>Nicholas Brendon \u2014 the gifted actor best known for his work on <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer <\/em>\u2014 has passed away.<\/p>\n<p>He was just 54 years old.<\/p>\n<p>News of Brendon\u2019s death comes courtesy of a post on his official Instagram page:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes,\u201d his family wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost people know Nicky for his work as an actor and for the characters he brought to life over the years. In recent years Nicky has found his passion in painting and art,\u201d the post continued. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNicky loved to share his enthusiastic talent with his family, friends and fans. He was passionate, sensitive and endlessly driven to create.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His family also acknowledged that Brendon had experienced his share of adversity over the years, while making clear that he remained hopeful.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Nicholas Brendon poses for his mugshot after being arrested on domestic violence charges on October 11, 2017 in Palm Springs, California. \" class=\"wp-image-551133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-864x1080.jpg 864w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-960x1200.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Nicholas Brendon poses for his mugshot after being arrested on domestic violence charges on October 11, 2017 in Palm Springs, California. \" class=\"wp-image-551133 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-864x1080.jpg 864w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-960x1200.jpg 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-scaled.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-862935980-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nicholas Brendon poses for his mugshot after being arrested on domestic violence charges on October 11, 2017 in Palm Springs, California. <span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo by Palm Springs Police Department via Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThose who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile it\u2019s no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis and he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Brendons concluded their message with a request for privacy as they grieve:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination and heart. Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"823\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-823x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris stars in 20th Century Fox's &quot;Buffy The Vampire Slayer Year 5.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-551134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-823x1024.jpg 823w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-768x956.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-1645x2048.jpg 1645w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-771x960.jpg 771w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-868x1080.jpg 868w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-964x1200.jpg 964w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"823\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-823x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris stars in 20th Century Fox's &quot;Buffy The Vampire Slayer Year 5.&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-551134 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-823x1024.jpg 823w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-768x956.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-1645x2048.jpg 1645w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-771x960.jpg 771w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-868x1080.jpg 868w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-964x1200.jpg 964w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-749044-scaled.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris stars in 20th Century Fox\u2019s \u201cBuffy The Vampire Slayer Year 5.\u201d <span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Photo by Online USA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Born in Los Angeles in 1971, Brendon began to pursue acting at a young age.<\/p>\n<p>While still in his teens, he rose to fame as Xander Harris on the acclaimed supernatural dramedy <em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em>, which aired seven seasons from 1997 to 2003.<\/p>\n<p>He later appeared on <em>Criminal Minds<\/em> and remained active in the entertainment world for decades.<\/p>\n<p>His passing marks the loss of a performer who helped define an era of television \u2014 and whose impact extended far beyond a single role.<\/p>\n<p>Brendon battled substance abuse and experienced numerous brushes with the law over the course of his career. His cause of death is unknown at this time.<\/p>\n<p>Our thoughts go out to Nicholas\u2019 loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading Time: 3 minutes UPDATE: Brendon\u2019s cause of death has now been revealed as atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease. According to TMZ, the late actor had a 90 percent blockage in one of his arteries and had previously suffered a heart attack. A friend who had been staying with Brendon reported that he had complained [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-463105548-scaled-e1774058719663.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}