Mourning for US actor Rio Hackford: The son of director Taylor Hackford (77, “Ray”) and stepson of British actress Helen Mirren (76, “The Queen”) died at the age of 51.
They are both “heartbroken” by the loss, Hackford and Mirren said in a statement, US media reported yesterday. He died of a very aggressive and rare form of eye cancer.
Hackford and Mirren called for regular eye exams in their statement. Rio Hackford’s younger brother Alexander previously told industry publication Variety that the actor died in California on April 14.
Actress Renee Zellweger praised her colleague as a “titan of kindness, love, class, courage”. Vince Vaughn described him as “loyal and funny”.
Hackford has acted in films and TV series such as Pretty Woman, Love Through, The Brothers Santa, Treme and The Mandalorian. He descended from Taylor Hackford’s first marriage to Georgie Lowres. The director has been married to Oscar winner Mirren since 1997.