Australian singer and actor Johnny Ruffo has died after losing his battle to cancer, aged 35.
In a statement shared to his social media, it said it was “with a heavy heart that today we had to farewell our beloved Johnny”.
Listen to Kicpod’s chat with Johnny here:
“Surrounded by his partner Tahnee and family, Johnny went peacefully with the support of some incredible Nurses & Doctors,” the statement read.
“He was a very talented, charming and sometimes cheeky boy. Johnny was very determined and had a strong will.
“He battled all the way to the end and fought as hard as he could. Such a beautiful soul with so much more to give.”
In 2017, Ruffo revealed was diagnosed with brain cancer and had undergone surgery to remove a tumour.
Two years later he was told he was in remission.
It was only then in November 2020 that Ruffo revealed the cancer had returned.
In September 2022, Johnny joined Jamila Rizvi on Listnr’s The Weekend Briefing. Johnny was one to remain positive throughout his battle, and that was no different in his chat, saying laughter has proven to be the best medicine.
Listen to The Weekend Briefing’s chat with Johnny here:
“People say, ‘oh, laughter is the best medicine’, [and] honestly, I’ve found that that tends to generally be the case. Like, when I’m generally laughing, like from the belly, you’re just not thinking about all the shit stuff,” he said.
“You’re just having a laugh with your family and your friends, and it’s just like, this feels great. this is just what I needed.”
Ruffo placed third on The X Factor Australia in 2011, becoming a famous national name.
He also spent three years on TV soap Home and Away where he portrayed the character, Chris Harrington.