Chuck Norris‘s family announced on March 20 that the famous martial artist and actor has died at the age of 86. With a career spanning decades in film and TV, the actor was still active, and his last role was playing himself in an unreleased film.
On March 19, it was announced that Norris was taken to a local hospital in Hawaii after a medical emergency. His cause of death has not been revealed yet, with his family having posted, “It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday [Thursday] morning. While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
Norris infamously became known in Hollywood for his martial arts skills rivalling those of actors likeSteven Seagal, Jackie Chan, and Jean-Claude Van Dam. Despite having kept a relatively low profile over the years, the actor was still active in his career, with his last role being in the Australian action comedy Zombie Plane.
The film is set to be released sometime in 2026 in Australia and will be Norris’s only posthumous role since his death. He played himself as Zombie Plan focuses on a government organization hoping to stop a zombie outbreak using high-profile celebrities. Other stars included Vanilla Iceand Sophie Monk.
Related: Chuck Norris’s Ex-Wife, Dianne Holechek, Dead at 84
Before the Zombie Plane, Norris also starred as Captain Alastair in the 2024 film Agent Recon. The actor took a hiatus before appearing in the film, as his prior role was as Booker “The Line Wolf” in The Expendables 2 in 2012. During that time, Norris appeared in a few small-screen roles.
He played the cameo role of Sergeant Major Lee Phillips in the Hawaii Five-0 two-part series finale in the episode titled “A ‘ohe ia e loa’a aku, he ulua kapapa no ka moana.” Before that, his TV special Chuck Norris’s Epic Guide to Military Vehicles was released in 2019 and had a voice role in a 2020 video game. When it comes to the small screen, he appeared as himself in “Boy Barry” for The Goldbergs in 2015.
Norris was a veteran of the United States Air Force and began training in martial arts competitions after fulfilling his service. He was a black belt in Karate, Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and judo, and started training celebrities in Hollywood. He got his start after being asked to play a main villain in The Way of the Dragon by his close friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee.
Throughout his career, Norris have a streak of well-received films like A Force of One, The Octagon, and An Eye for an Eye, and starred in the long-running CBS series, Walker, Texas Ranger. He became one of Hollywood’s biggest action stars of his generation.
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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