Carla Jeffery, the actress who played cheerleader Bree in Disney’s Zombies movies, died on September 1, 2026. She was 33.
Her longtime management company announced her death, and no cause has been made public. Jeffery had been with the same agency since she was 12 years old, which means the people who shared the news had known her for more than two decades.
Carla Alexander of Alexanders Talent Management posted the statement on Jeffery’s own Instagram account. “It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved Carla Jeffery, who passed away on September 1, 2026, at just 33 years old,” she wrote.
The role a whole generation grew up with
For kids who came of age on the Disney Channel, Jeffery was Bree, the aspiring cheerleader at Seabrook High who becomes best friends with Addison, played by Meg Donnelly. She first appeared in the 2018 telefilm Zombies, then came back for Zombies 2 in 2020 and Zombies 3 in 2022.
She stayed with the character even after she stopped playing it on camera. Jeffery voiced Bree in the 2024 animated Zombies: The Re-Animated Series, keeping her part of the franchise as it grew from a single TV movie into a full Disney property with sequels and a cartoon.
She showed up in the music videos, too. Jeffery appeared as Bree in cast videos for songs including “Flesh & Bone” and “Fired Up,” and in Donnelly’s video for “Impress.” Bree was written as bubbly and loyal, a comic sidekick who turned out to be one of the most recognizable faces of the whole thing.
Carla was more than a client, she was family
“Carla joined the Alexanders Talent Management family at the age of 12. For more than 20 years, we had the privilege of watching her grow into a beautiful, vibrant, and incredibly talented woman whose radiant smile could light up any room,” Alexander wrote in the tribute post.
“As Bree in Disney’s hit Zombies franchise, Carla shared her joy, humor, and bright spirit with audiences around the world,” the statement continued. “Carla was more than a client; she was family.”
Alexander asked people to give the family room to grieve. “We respectfully ask that their privacy be honored as they grieve this unimaginable loss,” she wrote. “Rest beautifully, Carla. Your light will never be forgotten.”
She was working long before Seabrook
Jeffery was born on July 10, 1993, in Houston, Texas, and she started young. Her first film role came in 2006, when she was 12, playing the younger version of Mo’Nique’s character in the comedy Phat Girlz.
Soon after, she landed a spot on Larry David’s HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm. She played Keysha Black across 10 episodes in the show’s sixth and seventh seasons, from 2007 to 2009. Her character belonged to the Black family, who move in with David after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The clan also included Leon, played by JB Smoove, and Loretta, played by Vivica A. Fox.
That was a lot of screen time for a young actress, and it came a full decade before most viewers would ever know her as Bree.
A résumé most working actors would envy
Between her child roles and Zombies, Jeffery kept steady work across the networks. She guest starred on ABC’s Miss Guided, Nickelodeon’s iCarly, Fox’s Lie to Me and Disney Channel’s Best Friends Whenever. She had an arc in the first season of NBC’s cop drama Southland as a key witness in an attempted murder case.
The 2010s kept her busy. She turned up on Men of a Certain Age, Good Luck Charlie, Torchwood, Shake It Up, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Uncle Buck, Scream Queens and Suburgatory. She also recurred in the first season of Netflix’s mockumentary American Vandal.
Her film credits included Teacher of the Year in 2014, Girl on the Edge in 2015 and Exchange in 2016. Voice work was part of the mix, too. She played a character in a 2020 episode of Disney XD’s Marvel series Spider-Man, one of about three dozen credits she built over 20 years.
Her Zombies castmates spoke first
Milo Manheim, who played Zed opposite Jeffery throughout the Zombies films, posted a short note. “Love you Carlaboo. The sweetest, kindest, most loving person,” he wrote. In the comments under the announcement, he added, “Carla. The sweetest person I have ever met. I love you.”
Chandler Kinney, who joined the franchise as Willa starting with Zombies 2, wrote that Jeffery was “the brightest shining light in any room she walked into. the kindest person you’d ever meet. the most beautiful soul.” She added, “this doesn’t feel real.”
Trevor Tordjman, who played Bucky, said he was at a loss for words and would never forget Jeffery’s energy and spirit. Baby Ariel, who played Wynter, posted her own message of love. The tributes were not polished statements. They read like friends trying to make sense of something sudden.
Disney’s own statement
Disney Entertainment Television released a statement calling Jeffery’s talent, warmth and spirit an indelible mark on everyone who worked with her. “She had a rare gift for connecting with audiences, and her performances brought joy to millions,” the company said.
The studio said it would remember her for her generosity and humor, and offered condolences to her family, her castmates and the fans whose lives she touched. It is a lot of official warmth for an actress who spent much of her career in supporting roles, and it tracks with what her co-stars kept saying on their own.
The Carla her friends knew off camera
Jeffery grew up a competitive cheerleader, which explains the easy physical confidence she brought to Bree. Disney’s own biography noted she had cheered as a child with the Midwest Marauders in Cincinnati. Off set, she taught acting classes and kept up her love of the sport.
Acting ran in the family. Her twin brother, Carlon Jeffery, is also an actor, and he co-starred in the Disney Channel sitcom A.N.T. Farm, which ran from 2011 to 2014. The two of them essentially grew up on the same lot.
In recent years, Jeffery had spoken openly about living with epilepsy. She shared her story publicly with the Epilepsy Foundation in 2022 and took part in a Disney Channel PSA during Disability Pride Month, saying she had once feared that revealing her diagnosis could hurt her chances as an actress. The Cameron Boyce Foundation, which works with young adults living with epilepsy, called her an incredible advocate for that community. Her manager did not connect her advocacy to her death, and there is no basis to.
Still working right up to the end
Jeffery’s final live-action turn as Bree was in Zombies 3. She kept performing afterward, returning to the character through voice work and recording an episode of the audio drama Asanté in 2025.
That is a career that started at 12 and never really slowed down. She spent most of her life in front of cameras, found the role that defined her for a generation of young viewers, and used her own experience to make other people feel less alone. Now her castmates and the fans who grew up on Seabrook are all circling the same thing: the joy she carried into every room.
She was 33.
