Chadwick Aaron Boseman was born on November 19th, 1976, in Anderson, South Carolina. In 2010, he landed his first major role as Sergeant Graham McNair on the one-season NBC drama Person Unknown. His breakout role, as Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first black player, came three years later in the 2013 film 42.
Before his breakthrough role as T’Challa, aka the Black Panther, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther franchise, Boseman continued his career with other biographical films, including 2014’s Get on Up, in which he played singer James Brown, and 2017’s Marshall, in which he played Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Boseman first appeared as the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War in 2016, and then he starred in his own film as the character in 2018. The film became the first film produced by Marvel Studios to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It made over $1.3 billion around the world. Before his untimely demise in 2020, Boseman reprised his role as the Black Panther in two more films (Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers (2019)) and four episodes of Disney Plus’ What If…? It was announced on August 28, 2020, that Boseman had passed away. His age was given as 43. Boseman’s wife, Simone Ledward, remarked of him at the 2021 Gotham Awards, “He is the most honest person I’ve ever encountered.” He didn’t merely express the truth; he sought it out, in himself, in others, and in the present. The truth is something that the individual may easily escape, but if they don’t, they couldn’t possibly be living their lives in accordance with a divine plan.
If so, what happened to Chadwick Boseman and what ultimately caused his death? Learn more about the circumstances behind Chadwick Boseman’s death and how his passing has inspired others to investigate their own health.
When and how did Chadwick Boseman pass away? Boseman lost his four-year fight with colon cancer on August 28, 2020. His age was given as 43. We confirm Chadwick Boseman’s death with unfathomable sadness. After being diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, Chadwick fought the disease for the next four years as it advanced to stage IV, his family said in a statement posted to his social media. “Chadwick was a great fighter; he overcame adversity on multiple occasions to give you the movies you love. The whole Marshall series, as well as Da 5 Bloods, August Wild’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and others, were filmed in between the many medical procedures and chemotherapy treatments that their actors through. The statement went on to say that playing King T’Challa in Black Panther was “the greatest professional highlight of his life.” In the comfort of his own home, with his loved ones close by, he passed away. The family appreciates everyone’s thoughts and prayers at this trying time, and they ask that their privacy be respected while they grieve.
Additionally, at the time, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige issued a statement reading, “Chadwick’s passing is profoundly tragic. We called him T’Challa, the Black Panther, and a great buddy. Every time he appeared on screen, he left an unforgettable mark because of the charm and enthusiasm he brought to the set. He gave life to a number of remarkable individuals in his writing, and no one has ever done a greater job of doing it than he. Every character he played had the same level of intelligence, kindness, strength, and power that he did. This cements his status as a legendary figure in his own right. The whole Marvel Studios team is heartbroken by his passing, and our thoughts and prayers are with them tonight.
The chairman of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, issued a separate statement in which he said, “We are all grieved by the awful loss of Chadwick Boseman — an exceptional talent and one of the gentlest and most loving individuals I have ever known. He shattered myths and prejudices, became a long-awaited hero to millions of people around the world, and inspired us all to dream higher and demand more than the status quo in his role as Black Panther, which he played with incredible strength, dignity, and depth. We mourn not just the man he was, but the man he would have been. His absence from the screen is only rivaled by his absence from our lives, as his millions of friends and fans can attest. The whole Disney family offers their deepest sympathies and deepest prayers to his loved ones.
