Jeffrey Carlson, the first actor to play a transgender character on a daytime television drama, died at the age of 48.
Carlson is most known for portraying the transgender character Zoe on the popular soap opera All My Children.
The actor’s death was confirmed Saturday evening by Time Out New York’s Adam Feldman (@FeldmanAdam) in a heartbreaking tweet.
“RIP Jeffrey Carlson, 48, exposed-nerve star of Broadway (Billy in The Goat, Marilyn in Taboo) and TV (the groundbreaking trans character Zoe on All My Children),” Feldman said.
“A powerful actor and a painful loss.”
According to Extra, Carlson attended The Juilliard School in New York City and quickly worked on the PBS series American Masters before branching out into theater.
He made his Broadway debut in The Goat or Who Is Sylvia in 2003, after working on off-Broadway productions such as Thief River and as Romeo in Romeo & Juliet.
That same year, he co-starred with Hilary Swank in the Broadway performances of Tartuffe and The Miracle Worker.
According to Playbill, Carlson portrays 1980s British pop diva Marilyn in the Broadway musical Taboo.
He first debuted on All My Children in 2006 as Zarf, before being replaced by Zoe as the first trans woman on daytime television.
According to IMDb, the 48-year-old has crucial supporting roles in films such as The Killing Floor, Backseat, and Hitch, all starring Will Smith.
His debut film role was in Happy End in 2003.
Carlson has even appeared on Law & Order: SVU.
Following his death, several fans of the actor flocked to Twitter to express their condolences.
“Devastated to hear of this. A wonderful friend and brilliant actor,” one former colleague wrote.
“We did a play together many years ago and he dazzled me.”
Feldmann also noted his appreciation of Carlson.
“I first saw him in a Lee Blessing play called Thief River when he was still in Juilliard and it was clear he was something special,” the theater critic wrote.
“Such a passionate and intense actor and person. That was a formative time for me as a theatergoer and he’s seared into that experience.”
Another wrote: “I saw his final performance in The Goat. He was simply wonderful. How terribly sad.”
A third added: “This is so sad. He was a wonderful Marilyn. RIP.”
Carlson was born on June 23, 1975, in Long Beach, California.
