Actor Donald Sutherland has died at the age of 88. A representative for Sutherland said that the actor died Thursday in Miami after a long illness. CAA’s Missy Davy confirmed Sutherland’s death to PEOPLE, stating that “a private celebration of life will be held by the family.”
Sutherland’s son, actor Kiefer Sutherland, 57, also revealed the news in a social media post: “With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
Sutherland starred in scores of films, including The Dirty Dozen, MASH, Klut, Animal House, Ordinary People, Pride & Prejudice and The Hunger Games franchise, and he won an Emmy Award in 1995 for the television film, Citizen X. Sutherland was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2017 “for a lifetime of indelible characters, rendered with unwavering truthfulness,” though he was never nominated for a competitive Oscar over his long career.
Sutherland is survived by five children, including Kiefer, whom he shared with ex-wife actress Shirley Douglas, and five grandchildren. Sutherland, who was also previously married to Lois Hardwick, wed actress Francine Racette in 1972, and shared kids Roeg, Rossif and Angus with her. He is also dad to daughter Rachel with Douglas, who died in 2020 at 86.
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