Bret Hanna-Shuford, ‘Wicked’ Actor on Broadway & Frequent TV Guest Star, Dies at 46
What To Know
- Bret Hanna-Shuford, a Broadway actor known for roles in Wicked and other major productions, died at age 46.
- He was married to Stephen Hanna-Shuford, with whom he shared a son and a popular Instagram account documenting their LGBTQ+ family life and parenting journey.
- Bret’s passing was announced by his husband, and a GoFundMe campaign supporting his health battle has raised over $321,000.
Bret Hanna-Shuford, a Broadway veteran who also took his talent to television, has died at age 46.
The announcement of Bret’s death came on Saturday, January 3, via an Instagram post Stephen Hanna-Shuford, his husband, posted on his own account and the Broadway Husbands account the couple shared.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that early this morning we said goodbye to the most amazing man, husband, and Papa in the universe,” Stephen’s post read. “Bret Hanna-Shuford left this world peacefully with love surrounded by his family. Our hearts are broken but we will continue to make him proud of us…”
Bret was diagnosed with the hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH, and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, or PTCL — both rare and life-threatening conditions — less than five months before his death, according to People. Amid his hospitalization, he posed for a Christmas Day selfie with Stephen as the couple wore matching knit hats.
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The actor was best known for his Broadway work. He spent four months as an understudy in Wicked between 2019 and 2020, and he also performed in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, among other Great White Way credits.
On television, Bret guest-starred on Alpha House, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Fight, FBI: Most Wanted, and Only Murders in the Building.
Bret was born in Beaumont, Texas, and earned a bachelor’s degree in theater at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, in 2001, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In addition to his stage work on land, he also performed on the Disney Cruise Line.
He and Stephen met in 2007 and wed in 2011. In 2022, they welcomed a son, Maverick. They had been living in Orlando while Bret worked toward a graduate degree at the University of Central Florida. The Hanna-Shufords accrued over a quarter-million Instagram followers on their Broadway Husbands account, where they shared updates on “LGBTQ+ family life, love, [and] parenting.”
A GoFundMe campaign to support his health battle has so far raised more than $321,000.
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