The Wire and It: Chapter Two actor James Ransone’s cause of death has been confirmed.
Ransone died by suicide, according to a December 29 death certificate viewd by Us Weekly on Wednesday, January 7.
The actor died on December 19 at the age of 46. Records viewed by Us at the time confirmed that The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the death an apparent suicide.
Ransone is survived by his wife, Jamie McPhee, and their two children, Jack and Violet.
McPhee, who wed Ransone in September 2017, took to Instagram two days after her husband’s death to thank him for giving her the “greatest gifts” of their children in a heartfelt tribute. “I told you I have loved you 1000 times before and I know I will love you again.,” she wrote. “You told me — I need to be more like you and you need to be more like me — and you were so right.”
The couple recently celebrated their daughter’s 4th birthday in May 2025.
“I am so happy that you and Jack and most of all Dad made me a mom,” McPhee wrote via Instagram at the time. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you even when you haul out a purse, a rainbow narwhal and a rolling pink suitcase to go to the store and then say hold on mommy I need to get my sunglasses. You’re perfect. Don’t ever change.”
A GoFundMe page was set up for Ransone’s family in the wake of his death, which has since raised nearly $300,000.
“On Friday, December 19th, we lost James Ransone — beloved husband, father, and friend,” he page’s description reads. “James, who his friends called PJ, was funny, magnetic, brilliant, and endlessly alive. Above all else, he was an extraordinary father.”
The description continues, “His wife, Jamie, known by her friends as Skipper, and their children, Jack and Violet, were the center of his world. They loved him infinitely, and he loved them just as fiercely in return. Their bond was deep, joyful, and unmistakable to anyone who witnessed it.”
“This fund has been created to support Jamie and the children as they navigate life after an unimaginable loss,” it adds. “Its purpose is simple: to give Jamie the space to focus fully on Jack and Violet, to care for them, protect their sense of security, and ensure they have a bright future — even without James’s light present in their everyday lives.”
It concludes, “If you feel moved and are able to contribute, your support will go directly toward helping this family move forward with stability, care, and love. Thank you for holding Jamie, Jack, and Violet close in your hearts. Your generosity, kindness, and remembrance of James mean more than words can ever express.”
Ransone, who was known for his work on The Wire, It: Chapter Two and Generation Kill, was open about being a victim of abuse and developing a heroin addiction earlier in life, sharing he was $30K in debt by age 27.
In a 2009 article for Malibu Magazine, Ransone wrote a first-person account of hitting rock bottom before getting sober after meeting his wife.
“I weighed 115 pounds, was about 30 grand in debt and had developed a pretty healthy heroin habit,” he wrote. “There were a lot of things going on inside me that I hadn’t faced, or at the very least, refused to acknowledge for a long time. There were a lot of hard corners in me that needed to be softened. I had no idea what the results were going to be as far as taking some responsibility for my past, but the outcome has been pretty remarkable.”
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