‘9-1-1: Nashville’ actress Isabelle Tate dies at 23 after battling neurological disease
‘9-1-1: Nashville’ actress Isabelle Tate dies at 23 after battling neurological disease
Two weeks after her “9-1-1: Nashville” debut, actress Isabelle “Izzy” Tate has died. She was 23.
Her Nashville-based talent agency, the McCray Agency, announced the news in a social media post on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
“Isabelle ‘Izzy’ Tate had a rare form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. She passed away peacefully on the 19th of October,” her longtime agent, Kim McCray, said in an Oct. 23 statement to USA TODAY. “The family requests privacy as they deal with this sudden and shocking loss.”
McCray added that “Izzy recently returned to acting and booked episode 1 of ‘9-1-1: Nashville,’ which filmed in June.” The Tate family requests that any “donations in Izzy’s memory” be submitted to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association.
Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and legendary “Spaceman” of KISS, died Oct. 16 after reportedly being on life support following a fall at his home. He was 74.
The rocker’s family said in a statement to USA TODAY that the musician died peacefully while surrounded by his family in Morristown, New Jersey. A week before his death, on Oct. 7, Frehley canceled his remaining tour dates for 2025, citing “ongoing medical issues.” The announcement came shortly after he was hospitalized for what was characterized as a “minor fall” in his studio.
Bassist Sam Rivers, a founding member of Limp Bizkit, died at 48, the band’s official Instagram account announced Oct. 18.
The statement, signed by Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Wes Borland, John Otto and DJ Lethal, remembered Rivers as “our brother,” “our bandmate” and “our heartbeat.” They wrote, “Sam Rivers wasn’t just our bass player − he was pure magic.”
Tate’s death comes weeks after her TV debut in the pilot episode of the ABC spinoff show, which premiered Oct. 9. She played a character named Julie, who uses a wheelchair and was made fun of in a bar. Currently in its first season, the procedural drama about first-responders stars Chris O’Donnell, Jessica Capshaw, LeAnn Rimes, Hunter McVey, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Juani Feliz and Hailey Kilgore.
According to her obituary, posted by Tennessee’s Austin Funeral and Cremation Services, Tate grew up in the Franklin area of Nashville. She is survived by her mother Katerina Kazakos Tate, stepfather Vishnu Jayamohan, father John Daniel Tate and her sister, Daniella Tate.
What is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease?
Tate shared in a 2022 Instagram post that she was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disease at age 13 that weakens her leg muscles over time. At the time, she said the disease had progressed, necessitating the use of a wheelchair at times.
“This has really changed my perspective on life, and if I’ve learned anything from this, it’s to appreciate the little things that are easily taken for granted,” her message said.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease “encompasses a group of disorders called hereditary sensory and motor neuropathies that damage the peripheral nerves,” according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
This disease is progressive and “can result in alteration or loss of sensation and wasting (atrophy) of muscles in the feet, legs and hands.”
