Kelley Mack, who graced the screens as Addy, a resident of the Hilltop Colony, in the ninth season of AMC's beloved series "The Walking Dead" from 2018 to 2019, passed away on Saturday in her hometown of Cincinnati, following a courageous battle against glioma of the central nervous system. She was 33 years old.
Mack's acting prowess extended beyond "The Walking Dead," as she also featured in episodes of Fox's "9-1-1" in 2019 and NBC's "Chicago Med" in 2022. Her face became synonymous with numerous commercials, including those for Dr Pepper (set in the imaginative town of Fansville), Ross Stores, Budweiser, Eli Lilly, Dairy Queen, Chick-fil-A, and alongside her mother, Rakuten. Her voice talent was showcased in the Oscar-winning animation "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (2018), where she provided the voice match for Hailee Steinfeld's character Gwen Stacy, and more recently, in a commercial for the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq.
Her cinematic resume boasted films like "Broadcast Signal Intrusion" (2021), "Delicate Arch" (2024), and the upcoming "Universal" (2025), which she not only starred in but also executive produced. For the past eleven years, Mack resided and worked in the Los Angeles area.
Born on July 10, 1992, in Cincinnati, Kelley Lynne Klebenow was the eldest of three siblings and had a peripatetic childhood, living in Wyoming, Ohio; Mount Lookout, Ohio; Ellisville, Missouri; Avon, Connecticut; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Hinsdale, Illinois. Her fascination with storytelling blossomed early when she received a mini video camera as a birthday gift. As a child actress in commercials, she garnered recognition from the Tisch School of the Arts for her portrayal of Chloe in "The Elephant Garden" (2008), which also won the Student Visionary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Mack graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in 2010 and later earned a bachelor's degree in Cinematography from the Dodge College of Film at Chapman University in 2014. She collaborated with her mother on several feature screenplays, including "On the Black," a 1950s college baseball tale loosely inspired by her maternal grandparents' days as students at Ohio University.
Beyond her acting and writing endeavors, Mack was a talented college tennis player and harbored a love for hiking, pickleball, biking, playing the piano, and traveling. Her passions also extended to dark chocolate, sports, bourbon, popcorn, fantasy football, stuffed (and real) animals, country music, and adopting a British accent. A lifelong smoker, she embraced life with vigor.
She is survived by her parents, Kristen and Lindsay; her sister Kathryn; her brother Parker, also an actor; her grandparents Lois and Larry; and her "dearest boyfriend," Logan. A memorial service celebrating her life is scheduled for 1 p.m. on August 16 at the Glendale Lyceum in Glendale, Ohio. Her family is also planning a tribute in Los Angeles for her friends and colleagues in the area.
"Her radiant spirit, creative fervor, and unwavering dedication to storytelling have left an indelible mark on all who knew her and the audiences she captivated through her remarkable work," her family said.
