Australian actor and singer Johnny Ruffo has died of a brain tumour, aged just 35 years.
Johnny shot to fame in 2011 after becoming a finalist in that year’s season of X Factor Australia, being mentored by Guy Sebastian. Following his X Factor success he signed with Sony Music Australia and supported groups such as One Direction, new Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys on their Australian tours.
In 2012 he won Dancing With The Stars Australia, donating his prize money to a youth homelessness charity and was also named Cleo Magazine’s Bachelor of the Year.
In 2013 he joined the cast of Home and Away playing Chris Harrington. his initial contract was for just 16 episodes but he ended up staying with the show for 3 years.
Shortly after leaving Home and Away Ruffo underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour, discovered after seeking medical attention for migraine headaches. He later revealed that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer and would be undergoing aggressive treatment.
In May 2019 he announced he was cancer-free and released his first new single in 4 years.
In 2020 he joined the cast of Neighbours for a 6-episode guest role, playing prison officer Owen Campbell. Campbell was charmed by inmate Andrea Somers into setting a trap, allowing her to swap places with her identical twin sister on the outside, Dee Bliss, leading to Andrea escaping prison and kidnapping her son, Hugo.
Later in 2020 Johnny announced that his brain cancer had returned and the news of his passing was announced on November 10th 2023 on his social media channels.
His Neighbours co-stars and friends paid tribute on Instagram, with Takaya Honda who plays David Tanaka saying “RIP Mate. The joy you bought to a space lifted everyone around you”.
Benny Turland who played Hendrix Greyson on Neighbours had also worked with Ruffo on Home and Away and recalled how supportive he had been in the early days.
“What a gem to the world he was! I remember sitting in the green room on my first day at Home and Away when I was 17, absolutely shitting myself. He introduced himself and then offered to have lunch with me and help me with my scenes for that day. The kindest man!! RIP.”
The Neighbours official account also shared the announcement from Johnny’s family, saying “Everyone here at Neighbours sends our sincere condolences to Johnny’s loved ones at this very sad time. We were very lucky to have him join us here on Ramsay Street for a very short stint and he was a friend to many. Johnny will be greatly missed.”