Jeffrey Carlson, the actor who played the groundbreaking transgender character Zoe in daytime soap All My Children, has died aged 48.
His death was first reported by his friend and Shakespeare Theatre Company actor Susan Hart, who played Gertrude opposite Carlson’s Hamlet. She said Carlson died on 6 July and that she was “just devastated.”
Carlson’s sister Elizabeth Carlson Gingras later confirmed the news, saying in a statement: “We are devastated by his passing and trying our best to handle this in a way that allows us to grieve, protect our hearts, and celebrate every ounce of goodness about him. It seems impossible to move forward without him, but we must focus on the time we had, and bring to light his memory and beautiful soul.”
No cause of death was given.
Carlson, who was born in California in 1975, was reportedly named after All My Children character Jeff Martin as his mother was a fan of the show. He would go on to appear in more than 50 episodes of the soap opera, starting in 2006.
Carlson first appeared on the show as a British rockstar called Zarf, but was called back months later when the writers decided to reintroduce the character as a transgender woman. Zoe’s gender transition was shown in detail, including her meetings with an endocrinologist, joining a transgender support group and coming out to her parents.
While there had been few small roles for transgender characters on US television at that time, Zoe was the first such recurring character in a daytime soap. Her introduction was controversial: in 2006, the LA Times reported Zoe’s upcoming transition had “sparked a heated debate” on fan message boards and that while soap audiences had become accustomed to gay characters, “tackling the first transgender coming-out on network television could be risky for a soap opera at a time when daytime dramas are suffering serious audience erosion”.
But Zoe was intended to “cause a conversation”, Carlson told People magazine a year later. “Members of the transgender community are talking with the regular posters on the All My Children chatrooms,” he added. “I got a letter from an 11-year-old girl. It said, ‘It’s cool you’re going to become a girl. Then we will have stuff in common.’”
All My Children ran for more than 10,000 episodes from 1970 until 2011 on US network ABC.
Carlson also acted on Broadway, playing Billy in Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? and Marilyn in Taboo. He also had small roles in film, including the 2005 Will Smith comedy Hitch.
Time Out New York theatre editor Adam Feldman described Carlson on Twitter as a “exposed-nerve star of Broadway (Billy in The Goat, Marilyn in Taboo) and TV (the groundbreaking trans character Zoe on All My Children). A powerful actor and a painful loss … it was clear he was something special.”
Carlson’s All My Children co-star Eden Riegel wrote: “Devastated beyond measure to hear of the passing of the beautiful and gifted Jeffrey Carlson. I feel fortunate to have called this kind soul a friend and see his brilliant work up close. Gone far too soon – an unimaginable loss. Love you, Jeffrey. Rest friend.”
The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC recalled his “memorable performances” in Lorenzaccio in 2005, Hamlet in 2007, Free for All in 2008, and Romeo and Juliet in 2016. The company quoted Hamlet in their tribute: “Good night, sweet prince, and may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
