The Touching Way Dove Cameron Honored Cameron Boyce After His Tragic Death

The Disney empire felt great grief on July 6, 2019, after the announcement of Cameron Boyce's death. The Disney star was only 20 years old and was found unresponsive in his bed after suffering a seizure in his sleep. His death came just before the release of Disney's "Descendants 3" and therefore devastated his co-stars, which included Dove Cameron, China Anne McClain, and Sofia Carson. It took some time after the news broke for Cameron to share her grief with the world, but once she did, she said, "Cameron [Boyce] talked me down from countless ledges, talked me through eating disorders, helped me out of a dark relationship, and through endless breakdowns," according to J-14.

When Cameron initially learned of Boyce's death, she was in London and was awakened by her phone's constant ringing, she told Seventeen. She said she immediately knew something was wrong. "If there was a word stronger than devastated that could describe the depth of the pain that I was feeling, I would use it," she said. Cameron also noted her "Descendants 3" co-stars remained tightly knit as they knew the premiere would be difficult without Boyce being physically there. The closeness they maintained softened the blow of reliving the joys they shared while filming the movie. "It feels like Cameron is still here when you watch it," Cameron told Yahoo! Movies. "It wasn't as painful as we thought." But honoring Boyce's memory didn't stop after the "Descendants 3" credits rolled.

Since Cameron Boyce's death, Dove Cameron has done much to honor his memory and the time they shared together. Within months of his death, Cameron tattooed a gun with a rose shooting out near her wrist in honor of Boyce's Wielding Peace, an anti-gun organization he was in the process of launching when he died, according to Vogue. "It's sort of like a nationally recognized symbol for peace and for anti-gun movements," she told the outlet, adding Boyce wanted to feature "influential people holding things that sort of looked like they were in the shape of a gun, but then it would be artistic or peaceful."

A year later, in honor of Boyce's 21st birthday in 2020, Cameron's tattoo design was used to develop an exclusive T-shirt campaign for Wielding Peace, according to People. Proceeds from the t-shirt sales supported The Cameron Boyce Foundation, which was founded the year Boyce died, in finding a cure for epilepsy and furthering the fight to end gun violence. "I could not be more proud to support this cause for my friend, whom I miss every day," Cameron said.

The actress-singer continues to support the foundation created in her friend's name as she never misses a Cam for Cause Gala, held every year around Boyce's birthday. In addition to honoring Boyce's memory, the gala raises funds to support its research, according to J-14. Cameron also never misses the opportunity to pen a message to her friend on his birthday every year since his death. On Boyce's birthday in 2024, she wrote on Instagram, "not a day goes by. happy birthday. I love you."