{"id":5135,"date":"2026-07-13T15:47:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5135"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:47:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:47:58","slug":"sam-neill-dead-jurassic-park-star-suddenly-dies-at-78-family-releases-statement-just-jared-celebrity-news-and-gossip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5135","title":{"rendered":"Sam Neill Dead: &#8216;Jurassic Park&#8217; Star Suddenly Dies at 78, Family Releases Statement &#8211; Just Jared &#8211; Celebrity News and Gossip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-2245346\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- Franchise logo or primary category --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/post title --><\/p>\n<p><!-- subheader --><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<!-- post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"tpd-post-thumbnail-container caption_belowImage credit_onImage\"><img width=\"788\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-788x444.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium tpd-force-16x9-aspect-ratio wp-post-image\" alt=\"Sam Neill at 2025 AACTA Awards\" decoding=\"sync\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-428x241.jpg 428w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-788x444.jpg 788w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100px, 788px\" loading=\"eager\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit-text\">Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- \/post thumbnail --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/sam-neill\/\" class=\"celebrity-tag-link\"><strong class=\"celebrity-tag-strong\">Sam Neill<\/strong><\/a> has sadly passed away, his family confirms in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The New Zealand actor died on Monday (July 13) in Sydney, Australia. He was 78 years old. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His family released a statement following his passing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-02.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"0\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\" title=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"1182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-02-788x1182.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Neill at the Apples Never Fall premiere\" class=\"wp-image-2245348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-02-788x1182.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-02-428x642.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">5<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is with immense sadness that the wh?nau [family] of <strong>Sam Neill<\/strong> share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia.<strong> Sam<\/strong> was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,\u201d his family shared in a statement, via <em><a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/obituaries-people-news\/sam-neill-dead-jurassic-park-1236809330\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/film\/obituaries-people-news\/sam-neill-dead-jurassic-park-1236809330\/\">Variety<\/a><\/em>. \u201cThe loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that <strong>Sam<\/strong> remained cancer free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent\u2019s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back in April, <strong>Sam<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/04\/28\/jurassic-parks-sam-neill-is-now-cancer-free-implies-he-almost-didnt-make-it-after-chemotherapy-stopped-working\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/04\/28\/jurassic-parks-sam-neill-is-now-cancer-free-implies-he-almost-didnt-make-it-after-chemotherapy-stopped-working\/\">revealed that he was cancer-free<\/a> after undergoing CAR T-cell therapy. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2023\/03\/17\/jurassic-park-star-sam-neill-opens-up-about-receiving-stage-3-cancer-diagnosis\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2023\/03\/17\/jurassic-park-star-sam-neill-opens-up-about-receiving-stage-3-cancer-diagnosis\/\">diagnosed with stage three blood cancer<\/a> in March 2022.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-01.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"1\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\" title=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"1182\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-01-788x1182.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Neill at the \" the=\"\" portable=\"\" door=\"\" world=\"\" premiere=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2245350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-01-788x1182.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-01-428x642.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">5<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sam<\/strong> is perhaps best known for starring as Dr Alan Grant in the original <em>Jurassic Park <\/em>trilogy. He then reprised his role in 2022\u2019s <em>Jurassic World Dominion<\/em>. Earlier this year, he reunited with co-stars <strong>Jeff Goldblum<\/strong> and <strong>Laura Dern<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/02\/08\/jurassic-park-reunion-super-bowl-2026-commercial-comcast-xfinity\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/2026\/02\/08\/jurassic-park-reunion-super-bowl-2026-commercial-comcast-xfinity\/\">in the Xfinity Super Bowl ad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More recently, he starred in the series <em>The Twelve<\/em>, <em>Untamed<\/em> and <em>Apples Never Fall<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sam has two movies that are currently in the works and will now be released posthumously. He will star in <em>The Last Resort<\/em> with <strong>Daisy Ridley<\/strong>, <strong>Alden Ehrenreich<\/strong>, and more. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He will also be starring in the upcoming <em>Godzilla x Kong: Supernova<\/em> alongside <strong>Dan Stevens<\/strong>, <strong>Kaitlyn Dever<\/strong>, <strong>Jack O\u2019Connell<\/strong>, <strong>Delroy Lindo<\/strong>, and more. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our thoughts and condolences go out to <strong>Sam Neill<\/strong>\u2018s family and friends during this difficult time. RIP.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-03.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"2\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\" title=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1180\" height=\"1792\" data-id=\"2245353\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-03-1180x1792.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Neill attends the 2019 Winter TCA Tour\" class=\"wp-image-2245353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-03-788x1197.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-03-428x650.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">5<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-04.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"3\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\" title=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1180\" height=\"1770\" data-id=\"2245351\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-04-1180x1770.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Neill attends the 2019 San Sebastian Film Festival\" class=\"wp-image-2245351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-04-788x1182.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-04-428x642.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">5<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large caption_belowImage credit_onImage mobile-image-full-width\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-05.jpg\" class=\"pss-trigger\" role=\"button\" data-pss-trigger=\"4\" aria-controls=\"pss-modal\" aria-label=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\" title=\"Open gallery of 5 images.\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1180\" height=\"786\" data-id=\"2245352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-05-1180x786.jpg\" alt=\"Sam Neill poses with his trophy at the 2019 AACTA Awards\" class=\"wp-image-2245352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-05-788x525.jpg 788w, https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip-05-428x285.jpg 428w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100px, 100vw\"\/><span class=\"pss-trigger__badge\" aria-hidden=\"true\">5<\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"categories single-categories\">Posted To:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/rip\/\" rel=\"tag\">RIP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/tags\/sam-neill\/\" rel=\"tag\">Sam Neill<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Getty Sam Neill has sadly passed away, his family confirms in a statement. The New Zealand actor died on Monday (July 13) in Sydney, Australia. He was 78 years old. His family released a statement following his passing. 5 \u201cIt is with immense sadness that the wh?nau [family] of Sam Neill share the news&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.justjared.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sam-neill-rip.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}