Child Star Evan Ellingson’s Cause of Death Revealed

On Tuesday, the cause of death of child star Evan Ellingson, who died in early November, was revealed. 

According to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department coroner, Ellingson, a former child star, who was best known for his roles in “My Sister’s Keeper” and “CSI: Miami,” died at age 35 as a result of an accidental fentanyl overdose. The coroner also listed the manner of death as an “accident.”

According to the sheriff’s department, Ellingson was found dead in the bedroom of a  Fontana sober-living residence in San Bernardino County, Calif., at about 11:30 a.m. on November 5, 2023.

The circumstances of his death were not immediately made public, but officials did not suspect foul play.

“My Sister’s Keeper” director Nick Cassavetes remembered the late actor in a post at the time of his death, writing, “My soul is crushed today. What a kid.”

Ellingson’s IMDb profile states that he was “discovered at a skate park” at the age of 10 in La Verne, Calif., and Vans’ talent scouts asked Ellingson to skate for the Vans PeeWee team and “to do a commercial for the Vans Company.”

“[His] unmistakable charisma and talent” led to him being “asked to do a trilogy of short films playing a character that was written specifically for him,” according to his profile. The film work allowed him to secure notable acting roles later.

In 1995, he landed a guest spot on “Mad TV” and later became a series regular on the 2000 Fox sitcom “Titus.” In 2004, Ellingson portrayed Kyle Savage on ABC’s “Complete Savages” alongside Keith Carradine and Erik von Detten. He is best known for his role in 2009’s “My Sister’s Keeper,” but seemingly retired from acting in 2010 after appearing on “CSI: Miami.”

In 2021, Ellingson sought recovery for substance abuse at the River’s Edge Ranch in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

“Life before the drugs was kinda just fun,” he said in a five-minute testimonial posted on YouTube. “I would say around 19 is when I got into the heavy drugs. My rock bottom was when I was 19. My older brother Austin, he died from a heroin overdose, and when he died … it sent me over the edge.”

“Once my brother passed away, I just kind of realized that there was much more to life, and how important people were,” he continued. “I would have given everything that I had to be able to get my brother back, and I knew I couldn’t. And so it sent me on this downhill spiral where everything just got really dark and scary and things weren’t fun anymore.”

“There’s a lot of things that God has shown me since I’ve been here at the ranch,” he concluded in the video. “I’m starting to see why things were happening the way they were and what God was doing. … God has restored my mind. I have peace now again, I have hope. … I’m super excited about life.”

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