A GoFundMe set up for Eric Dane’s daughters has raised more than half of its $250,000 goal in a matter of hours.
Dane died Thursday at age 53 following what his family called “a courageous battle with ALS.” The Grey’s Anatomy star revealed his diagnosis with the condition in April 2025.
An unspecified group of Dane’s friends have banded together to launch a GoFundMe for the two teenage daughters, Billie and Georgia, he shared with wife Rebecca Gayheart.
“As his illness progressed far more quickly than anyone could have imagined, Eric’s friends have come together to create this GoFundMe to support his girls and their future needs,” the fundraiser’s description read in part. Dane’s daughters were described as “the center of his world.”
Donations have neared $150,000 Saturday morning, including a $27,000 gift from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.
“I’m heartbroken by the loss of our dear friend Eric. Working with him was an honor. Being his friend was a gift. Eric’s family is in our prayers. May his memory be for a blessing,” Levinson said in a statement to Variety shortly after Dane’s death was announced.
In addition to his star-making turn as Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy, Dane was introduced to a new audience in 2019 when he was cast in the HBO Max teen drama Euphoria as Cal Jacobs, a father hiding the fact that he is gay.
At the time he announced his diagnosis, Dane vowed to continue to work regardless of his health.
“I feel fortunate that I am able to continue working and am looking forward to returning to [the] set of Euphoria next week,” he told People at the time. “I kindly ask that you give my family and I privacy during this time.”
Dane went on to guest star on a November episode of the NBC medical show Brilliant Minds, playing a character with ALS.
He starred as Matthew Ramati, a firefighter struggling to share his ALS diagnosis with his family. The episode shone a light on some of the symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease, with Dane’s character losing the use of his hands and struggling to breathe hard into a tube.
In one scene, Zachary Quinto’s character, Dr. Oliver Wolf, advised Ramati about his treatment options and the first responder reacted badly to the idea of spending his last days hooked up to a machine. “What’s it matter? Nobody survives this,” he says. “We both know that, and I know how to take care of my family.”