Lauded producer, actor, director, and writer Ash Christian died in his sleep while vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Thursday August 13th, 2020. He was 35 years old. 

Born on Jan. 16, 1985, in Paris, Texas, Christian began writing and directing short films at the age of 14 before moving to Los Angeles to pursue his acting dreams just two years later. 

Christian also operated his own successful New York-based film production company, Cranium Entertainment. Cranium and Christian recently released the acclaimed AIDS drama 1985, directed by Yen Tan and starring Cory Michael Smith and Virginia Madsen. 

I’m 2006 Christian caught Hollywood’s attention with his independent film, Fat Girls, which he also wrote and co-starred in. The movie, co-starring Ashley Fink and Boys in the Band’s Robin De Jesus, was a hit at Outfest, Los Angeles’s LGBTQ+ film festival; Christian won the Outfest award for emerging talent.

Christian also produced Hurricane Bianca, a 2016 film starring RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio. At the time of his death, Christian had several other films in various stages of production starring high-profile actors like Lili Taylor, Dustin Hoffman, Fortune Feimster, Marissa Tomei, Gina Gershon, and Josh Hutcherson. 

Christian’s talents also extended to television, where he appeared on dramas like The Good Wife, The Good Fight, and Law & Order. Christian won a Daytime Emmy in 2014 for his program, ml Promise.