Disney Channel Star Bella Thorne Pays Tribute To Her ‘TV Dad’ Bill Paxton


Disney Channel star Bella Thorne has joined a host of other Hollywood stars in remembering Bill Paxton, following his death on Saturday. Thorne was just a child when she starred alongside Paxton on HBO’s Big Love, however, the 19-year-old actress still has some fond memories of starring alongside the Titanic actor.

According to Entertainment Tonight, not long after it emerged that Bill Paxton had died at the age of 61 due to surgery complications, his Big Love co-star Bella Thorne took to Twitter to express her grief, saying “Noooooo #BillPaxton f**k. I love you man.”

Thorne continued her tribute to the late actor on Instagram, with a post saying “Oh my goodness… I don’t even know what to say. Thank you Bill for being such a good TV dad to me and spreading love on every set you work on,” she wrote. “My thoughts and prayers go out to your family. We love you #billpaxton #rip.” Alongside the heartfelt message, Thorne also shared a photo of Bill Paxton as his Big Love character Bill Henrickson in the HBO drama, which aired between 2006 and 2011 and received critical acclaim for the network.

According to Hollywood Life, the 19-year-old actress played Tancy “Teenie” Henrickson, Paxton’s character Bill’s younger daughter. Whilst Thorne only joined the show for its final two seasons, she developed a close relationship with her on-screen dad Bill Paxton. The HBO show was about a fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy. As such, Paxton’s character Bill Henrickson has three different wives throughout the course of the series and different children with each, creating a difficult family situation.

Over the course of its five-season run, Big Love received widespread critical acclaim for its complex portrayal of American life. The series earned several major awards and nominations throughout its run, with Bill Paxton himself receiving several Satellite and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role as the show’s lead protagonist Bill Henrickson.


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Bill Paxton sadly passed away on Saturday from complications following heart surgery. The actor is believed to have suffered a stroke following the operation. The actor leaves behind his two children, James and Lydia Paxton and his wife of 30 years, Louise Newbury. His family confirmed Bill’s death, saying “Bill began his career in Hollywood working on films in the art department and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades as a beloved and prolific actor and filmmaker.”

Paxton’s career spanned five decades as both an actor and director, with some of his most respected work including Aliens (1986), The Terminator (1984), and Titanic (1997). Alongside his aforementioned numerous nominations for Big Love, Paxton won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Apollo 13 in 1996 and a Saturn Award for Aliens in 1987.

Bella Thorne isn’t the only star to have paid tribute to Bill Paxton following his passing. According to the Independent, Jennifer Aniston fought back tears as she paid an emotional tribute to the Titanic actor at last night’s Oscars. With the 89th Academy Awards taking place just hours after Paxton’s death was announced, he wasn’t included in the “In Memoriam” part of the ceremony, however, Friends star Jennifer Aniston made sure to remember Paxton in her introduction of the video montage.

Since his passing was announced yesterday, stars around the globe, including Tom Hanks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Rob Lowe have taken to Twitter to remember Bill Paxton and his contributions to both the big and small screen.

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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