Emily in Paris star Pierre Deny has died at age 69 after battling ALS.
“It is with deep emotion that we announce the passing of Pierre Deny, which occurred this Monday following a sudden and severe case of ALS,” the actor’s daughters said in a statement to the Daily Mail on Wednesday, May 27.
The actor began his career in the ’80s with theatre productions before making the move to TV and film. He was known for his role on the French series Julie Lescaut, where he played Captain Philippe Kremen. More recently, Deny appeared as Louis de Léon, CEO of the fictional fashion company JVMA, on seasons 3 and 4 of Emily in Paris.
After news broke about Deny’s death, celebrities took to social media to mourn.
Singer Sylvie Vartan wrote via Instagram, “It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Pierre Deny. I shared many wonderful moments with him on stage in Isabelle Mergault’s play.”
She continued: “He was a generous actor and a sensitive and funny man. In these painful moments, my thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”
Raphael Benoliel, meanwhile, described Deny as a “great artist” and a “magnificent person,” adding via X, “I shared with him a passion for soccer that he loved above all else … he was a true enthusiast, and we were still playing together just a year ago like a couple of kids.”
Benoliel addressed Deny’s health battle as well. “He had the joy of the game, the joy of being together, the love of effort, of life,” he continued. “That goddamn Charcot’s disease took him away far too soon … it’s so unfair.”
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a terminal neurodegenerative disorder. The disease causes patients to gradually lose control of their muscles, beginning gradually with muscle stiffness or twitches and evolving to completely eliminate their ability to eat and breathe.
Celebrities have opened up about their experiences with ALS through the years, including Eric Dane, who died in February at age 53 after battling the disease.
Earlier this month, actor Russell Andrews revealed his own ALS diagnosis.
“I am a person living with ALS. I was diagnosed in the late fall of last year. It’s been humbling,” the Better Call Saul alum, 64, said during an appearance on CNN’s The Story Is With Elex Michaelson. “I thought I had a stroke during COVID. It was a stressful time.”
Andrews continued, “There were moments there were twitches. There were things that I thought I was having pinched nerves in my neck and they were quite frequent. I was not able to do things that I normally do. I was dropping cups and glasses, and in the night, it felt like things were running up and down my arm at different times, and it was the nerves.”
