Remembering Eric Dane

The famous actor Eric William Dane was born Nov. 9, 1972, in San Francisco, California. He is the oldest of two brothers. In high school, Dane was a good athlete. However, when he started amateur stage work and played the role of Joe Keller in “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller, he knew that acting was what he wanted to pursue as a career.

On Oct. 29, 2004, Dane married his wife in Las Vegas, Nevada. They had two daughters together, Billie and Georgia.

Dane made his television debut in 1991 when he guest-starred as Tad Pogue in the season three episode: “The Game.” The show was a hit in the 1990s. Following his debut, he appeared in other shows throughout the decade, including in 1993 and 1995.

In 2000, he played his first recurring role as Dr. Wyatt Cooper. He later played Jason Dean from 2003-2004. Before becoming a series regular, he was widely known for his recurring role as Dr. Mark Sloan, also known as “McSteamy,” on Grey’s Anatomy. In October 2006, Dane became a series regular and remained on the show until his departure in its ninth season.

After leaving “Grey’s Anatomy,” Dane played Captain Tom Chandler in “The Last Ship” from 2014-2018. He later portrayed Cal Jacobs in “Euphoria.”

In 2017, the couple separated, and in 2018 Gayheart filed for divorce. Although they were separated, she later dismissed the petition after learning of her husband’s diagnosis of ALS.

In April 2025, Dane revealed that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. About 5,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS each year. In an interview with in June 2025, he said he began experiencing symptoms about a year and a half before his diagnosis.

After a 10-month battle with ALS, Eric Dane died on Feb. 19 of this year.