Jeffrey Carlson, known for his role as a trans character on the daily soap opera All My Children, has reportedly died. He was 48. Per Deadline, no official details were immediately available on the cause of death or where the death occurred. The news of Carlson’s via a Twitter post, referring to Carlson as a “powerful actor.”Carlson starred on the soap since 2006.
Carlson began on the show starring as the character of Zarf in August 2006 before returning in November of the same year as a trans woman named Zoe. Per Parade, it’s unclear whether Zoe was the first transgender character on daytime television. However, she was likely the first out transgender woman on a series, and the first depiction of a male-to-female transition as well. Fandom reports that Zoe’s character was created by the soap’s head writer, Megan McTavish, after she watched TransGeneration,ย a documentary-style reality series about transgender students at US universities.
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Carlson’s death has sent shockwaves, with writer Mark Harris writing on Twitter, “This is truly sad. Jeffrey Carlson blazed through NYC theater in the ’00s, and anyone fortunate enough to see him back then or in the regional work that followed knew they were witnessing not just a wonderful actor, but an honest and original one. RIP.”
The Shakespeare Theatre Company shared a tribute on Facebook. “STC is saddened to learn of the recent passing of Jeffrey Carlson. Jeffrey gave beautiful and nuanced performances during his career, which took him from television and film to Broadway and, fortunately for us, to STC,” the post reads.ย
Carlson’s performance also includes Lorenzaccio (2005), Hamlet (2007), 2008’s Free For All, Romeo and Juliet (2016), and 2017’s version of Free For All.
A native of Long Beach, Calif., Carlson graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School before making his Broadway debut came in 2003 in Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who Is Sylvia. Carlson later star in Tartuffe and The Miracle Worker, alongside Academy Award winner Hilary Swank.
