Kelley Mack, known to many for her roles in The Walking Dead, Chicago Med and 9-1-1, passes away at the age of 33. Her family confirmed that the actress died on August 2 in her hometown of Cincinnati, following a battle with glioma of the central nervous system.
Mack’s career spanned both television and film, but her impact reached far beyond the screen. With a creative spirit that emerged early, after receiving a mini video camera as a birthday gift, she began acting in commercials as a child and never stopped storytelling.
A 2010 graduate of Hinsdale Central High School, Mack went on to earn a degree in cinematography from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film. Her early work earned critical notice: her debut film The Elephant Garden won the Student Visionary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008 and she was honoured with an acting award from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Television audiences best remember Mack as Addy in season 9 of AMC’s The Walking Dead and as Penelope Jacobs in FOX’s 9-1-1 and NBC’s Chicago Med. She also appeared in indie films like Broadcast Signal Intrusion, Delicate Arch, and the upcoming Universal.
But Mack’s talents weren’t just confined to acting. She was also a screenwriter! She often collaborated with her mother, Kristen Klebenow. The pair wrote several full-length scripts together, including On The Black, a baseball drama inspired by Mac’s grandparents’ time at Ohio University.
Kelly Mack is survived by her parents, Kristen and Klebenow, her sister Kathryn, brother Parker, and grandparents Lois and Larry Klebenow.
She will be remembered not only for the characters she brought to life but for the stories she was still dreaming up and for the grace with which she lived, created and connected.