Tragic Details About Zac Efron's Life

Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of addiction and mental health issues.

Ever since he shot to fame in 2006 as the vocally talented, basketball-playing Troy Bolton in "High School Musical," alongside his real-life girlfriend at the time Vanessa Hudgens Zac Efron has been beloved by his fans. His acting career has withstood the test of time, taking him from his Disney Channel days to more adult comedies, heart-wrenching dramas, and even an Emmy-winning travel docuseries.

Efron's work ethic can't be questioned, and he even spoke with Variety in December 2023 about the importance of sticking things out, saying, "There's a certain number of things you can control in your life, and the rest, you have to realize you're not in control of it. ... You can put your heart and soul into something, and it doesn't work out the way you thought it would, but the idea of giving up or quitting because of that — there's just so much to be done."

Perhaps this mentality has allowed the "17 Again" star to overcome so much in his personal life, which at times hasn't been as fortunate as his professional life. In fact, there are many tragic details about Zac Efron's life that not many people know of.

Child stars have often been known to struggle with the transition from adolescence to adulthood, especially when the tabloids document every choice they make. This has been true for stars like Lindsay Lohan, Robert Downey Jr, and, sadly, Zac Efron. He had begun acting on stage at 11 years old, but during the liftoff of his highly publicized career, the actor found himself drinking and using drugs to a worrying degree.

In speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in April 2014, he explained, "I was drinking a lot, way too much. ... It's never one specific thing. I mean, you're in your 20s, single, going through life in Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you. I wouldn't take anything back; I needed to learn everything I did. But it was an interesting journey, to say the least."

Efron checked himself into rehab in 2013 and started going to Alcoholics Anonymous, which he credits with changing his life. In May 2016, he told Elle, "What I found is structure. That led me to a balance of opposites: You get out of life what you put in."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

While Zac Efron's fans might be familiar with some of his family, like his parents and brother Dylan, who have supported his career from early on, it's unsurprising that the actor hasn't shared too much about his extended family. Sadly, unbeknownst to many, his cousin Emily died in 2013 from cancer.

In October 2015, Efron shared a photo on Instagram of himself and his cousin as kids. Alongside the tributary post, he wrote, "Happy birthday to my cousin and best friend, Emily, who passed away from cancer 2 years ago — she was 28 like me. We share the same birthday and this day is forever ours. My birthday wish is for you to donate anything you can to [Stand Up to Cancer]." The "Neighbors" actor shared a link to the organization's donation page and thanked his followers for wishing him a happy birthday.

Over the years, we've learned that Zac Efron may be a tad accident-prone. In November 2013, it was initially reported by E! News that the "High School Musical" star had slipped in a puddle of water at his home, resulting in a broken jaw that required his mouth to be wired shut. Over the years, fans noticed a change in Efron's appearance, with many comparing his face to that of a celebrity who might appear on "Botched."

While many initially believed he might have had too much plastic surgery, Efron eventually spoke out about the terrifying ordeal, explaining that he'd knocked himself out running in his house with socks on. In a September 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight, he said, "It was funny. It sucks. I almost died, but we're good," he said bluntly.

In speaking with Men's Health in October 2022, "The Greatest Showman" star explained that he wasn't even aware of what's been dubbed "Jaw-gate" (due to the increased size of his jaw) until his mom called to ask if he'd had anything cosmetic done to his face. Fortunately, the rumor mill doesn't seem to bother Efron too much, as he stated, "If I valued what other people thought of me to the extent that they may think I do. I definitely wouldn't be able to do this work."

Unfortunately, not everyone seems to be a fan of the blue-eyed "That Awkward Moment" star. In March 2014, Zac Efron was driving around Los Angeles with a friend, trying to find somewhere to eat, when he experienced what he described to The Hollywood Reporter the following month as "the most terrifying moment in my life." They ran out of gas on the infamous Skid Row, and after pulling over on the side of the road to wait for an Uber, the actor was attacked.

Efron explained, "A homeless guy, or vagrant, tapped on the driver's-side window. Before I knew it, [my friend] was out of the car, and they started fighting. I saw that [the man] was carrying some sort of a knife or shank, and I got out of the car to disarm him. At some point, he dropped the knife, and I got hit pretty hard in the face — and almost instantly, the police were there to break up the fight." The story blew up, and it was later reported that the unhoused man had perceived Efron throwing a water bottle out of the car window as a threat.

Anyone who's lost a pet knows how painful it can be to say goodbye. In April 2012, Zac Efron shared via X, formerly Twitter, that he adopted his first dog, an Australian Shepherd, and had named him Puppy. Tragically, just four years later, the actor revealed in an August 2016 Instagram post that Puppy had died, writing, "Through thick and thin you've always been my best friend. I'll see you at the finish line, RIP Puppy Efron."

The actor signed off the post with lyrics from Chance the Rapper that read, "Felt hog tied ever since my dog died / He lived to 84, damn, that's a long ride / I know he up there he just sit and he wait / I'll be racing up the stairs I'mma get to the gate singing." Efron has long been known as a dog person, and he went on to adopt three more pups, Chapelle, Dreamer, and Maca.

Zac Efron has long been known for his impressive physique, and he's transformed his body multiple times for roles, including 2017's "Baywatch." While it can be assumed that actors are able to get into shape much easier than ordinary people due to the amount of resources at their fingertips, that doesn't mean the process doesn't take a toll.

As Efron told Men's Health, "That 'Baywatch' look, I don't know if that's really attainable. There's just too little water in the skin. Like, it's fake; it looks CGI'd. And that required Lasix, powerful diuretics, to achieve. ... I started to develop insomnia, and I fell into a pretty bad depression for a long time. Something about that experience burned me out. I had a really hard time recentering. Ultimately, they chalked it up to taking way too many diuretics for way too long, and it messed something up."

As much as Efron had wanted to drop the muscle after "Baywatch," he didn't feel better when he finally did. "For all the reasons I thought it would be incredible, I was just miserable. My body would not feel healthy; I just didn't feel alive. I felt bogged down and slow."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Zac Efron seems to have been born with nine lives, considering how lucky he's been when it comes to life-threatening incidents. While he was in London with Hugh Jackman filming "The Greatest Showman," the actors decided to go for an innocent bike ride. Unfortunately, as Efron explained on a January 2018 episode of the "Graham Norton Show," he had another stroke of bad luck and almost died (via Teen Vogue).

"I cycled with [Jackman] in London, but I'm not one to ride a bike early in the morning in traffic, so it turned out to be quite dangerous. I followed Hugh around a few cars, and suddenly, there was a double-decker bus right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, went under the front tire, and narrowly missed death," he remarked. While it can be argued that Efron may not have been familiar with riding on the left side of the road, there's no question that the Hollywood icon was incredibly lucky yet again.

In 2019, Zac Efron took on what may have been his darkest role yet in "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" as the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, alongside Lily Collins. It was a risk, and even his mother didn't want him to take on the project at first. Efron told Entertainment Weekly in April 2019, "I knew the look on my mom's face when I told her that I was considering playing him. It was not a good look. It was a very scared look." Eventually, she relented after learning more about the plot, and Efron went on to give a great performance as Bundy, despite the movie's mediocre reception.

However, the actor found it somewhat difficult to shake his character at the end of each day and relied on various methods to come back to himself. "I did breathing and meditation. ... On the way home, I just do some [transcendental meditation] and try to phase out of it. Really, you can't ever really let go of all of it. There's always a little bit of you that knows tomorrow you're Ted," he explained. Later that year, Efron went on to star in the stoner comedy "The Beach Bum," which probably served as a nice reset from playing a murderer.

Zac Efron doesn't shy away when it comes to showing his sensitive side, and as someone who's been dealt more than his fair share of loss, he's done it several times. When the Hollywood star appeared on "The Ellen Show" in April 2019, he revealed that his grandmother had just died two days prior. "I'm a little sentimental right now," Efron said, his voice wavering a little. He went on to tell a story about how his grandmother would buy teen magazines and cut out all the pictures of him, then turn them into posters. "One day, I just went and I wrote to grandma, 'I love you,' on all of them. And she hung them all over the house," Efron remarked.

A short while later, the actor shared a heartfelt Instagram post in tribute to his grandmother. Alongside a photo of his family all together, Efron wrote, "Love you Grandma. Rest In Peace. We'll take good care of Grandpa for you."

Zac Efron found a lot of success with his 2020 travel show "Down to Earth with Zac Efron," which demonstrated the star's interests and talents outside of a soundstage. However, before the docuseries even aired, he was exploring other parts of the world in December 2019 for his adventure series "Killing Zac Efron," which has still yet to air as of this writing. Efron unfortunately fell ill while in Papua New Guinea and had to be airlifted all the way to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia.

It was believed to be typhoid fever, a bacterial infection, that Efron contracted while filming his show. After receiving treatment for several days, he was allowed to return home for the holiday season. In a post on X following his release from the hospital, Efron wrote, "Very thankful to everyone who has reached out. I did get sick in Papua New Guinea but I bounced back quick and finished an amazing 3 weeks in P.N.G. I'm home for the holidays with my friends and family. Thanks for all the love and concern, see you in 2020!" Of course, 2020 would come with its own devastation, but Efron — along with the rest of the world — was none the wiser then.

Celebrities like Zac Efron have so much notoriety (and an approachable personality to match) that being recognized in public can be incredibly off-putting. The "Firestarter" actor acknowledged how his level of fame makes living his life difficult, telling Entertainment Tonight in July 2024, "Going to the grocery store is kind of hard." But it's more than just an inconvenience for Efron, as he actually deals with agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder characterized by avoiding places and incidents that cause panic or the feeling of being trapped or helpless.

The actor spoke about his anxiety disorder for the first time with Men's Health in October 2022, stating simply, "I just don't go out. People in large groups, it triggers my agoraphobia." Although the condition is relatively rare, with less than 2 percent of the population estimated to experience it, many celebrities have spoken out about having agoraphobia. Kim Basinger and Donny Osmond, for example, have been open about their devastating experiences with the anxiety disorder. While Efron didn't elaborate much on how his agoraphobia impacts him, it's understandably a difficult condition to deal with.

Zac Efron absolutely nailed playing the good-looking high schooler in all three "High School Musical" installments, "Hairspray," and the younger version of Matthew Perry's character in 2009's "17 Again." Of course, the "Friends" star sadly died in October 2023, and he was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his home in Los Angeles. But it turns out that before Perry died, he wanted Efron to play him yet again, this time in a biopic about his life. "The Iron Claw" star spoke with Extra in November 2023 about the prospect, saying, "I was hugely honored. It would be extraordinary to do. ... I'm still devastated by the fact that [Perry] is gone."

The following month, Efron was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and during the ceremony, he spoke about the impact Perry had on his life back when they were making "17 Again." He said, "Collaborating with him and [director Burr Steers] — it was so much fun and really did propel me and motivate me in so many ways. It really pushed me into the next chapter of my career, and for that, thank you so much, Matthew. Thinking about you a lot today." (via People).

In August 2024, Zac Efron made headlines again for yet another tragic accident. Details were murky at first, but it was first reported by TMZ that, while in Ibiza with some friends, the actor dove into a swimming pool, hit his chest on the bottom, and ended up breathing in some water. The on-site security helped him out of the pool and a dazed Efron was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

The star's representative told People in a statement at the time that he had suffered a "minor swimming incident" but that "he is fine." Just a couple of days after the incident, following his return home from Ibiza, Efron shared an update on his Instagram story, saying he was "happy and healthy" and thanked his followers for their concerned messages. While he has yet to comment about the specifics of the accident, it seems Efron was lucky not to have endured more devastating consequences — yet again.