The “Jawbreaker” actress and her late husband taught their two kids about “setting boundaries” in the entertainment industry.

Rebecca Gayheart reveals major life advice Eric Dane gave daughters before his death

The “Jawbreaker” actress and her late husband taught their two kids about “setting boundaries” in the entertainment industry.

By Daysia Tolentino

Daysia Tolentino

Daysia Tolentino is a writer at *. *She has written for * *since 2025. Her work has appeared in NBC News, Vulture, GQ, and InStyle.

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September 1, 2026 3:43 p.m. ET

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Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart with their kids Billie Beatrice and Georgia Geraldine in Paris. Credit:

Rebecca Gayheart/Instagram

- Rebecca Gayheart shared her and late husband Eric Dane’s advice for their daughters, Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14.

- The two teens have been trying their hand at careers in the entertainment industry, with Georgia starring alongside her mother in the upcoming Lifetime movie *The Ocean Between Them.*

- Dane died at the age of 53 in February following a months-long battle with ALS.

Rebecca Gayheart revealed her and Eric Dane’s advice for their two daughters.

In the wake of Dane’s death at the age of 53 in February, the *Jawbreaker* actress shared that their daughters, Billie, 16, and Georgia, 14, have expressed interest in following in their footsteps. Before his passing, Gayheart said that he helped impart some words of wisdom about working in the entertainment industry.

“I think we’ve tried to instill just character and making good decisions, keeping themselves safe, setting boundaries,” Gayheart told *E! News* in an interview published on Monday. “I think they have a pretty good sense of a safe situation and a dangerous situation, and we’ve been doing this since they were little. So, they know.”

Eric Dane's cause of death confirmed 1 week after he died at 53

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Their advice comes at a good time, as Georgia is set to make her acting debut alongside her mother in the Lifetime movie *The Ocean Between Them. *The film is one of three of the network’s new ripped-from-the-headlines thrillers titled “Strength of a Lifetime,” which premieres this month.

Gayheart will play Joan, a protective mother scouring the Central American Pacific after her daughter Miranda (Jessica Lord) disappears at sea during a vacation in Belize. Georgia will star as Ashley, Joan’s youngest daughter, who aids her in the search.

“It was really fun,” Gayheart told *E! News* about working with her youngest child. “Georgie, you know, she’s such a great kid. She’s really smart. She has the acting bug, and so she’s studying at the Margie Haber Studio. She’s worked with [coach] Nancy Banks. She did a tiny role in this Lifetime movie that I did. And it’s just fun to watch.”

Eric Dane photographed at the St. Regis in Washington, DC on September 30, 2025.

Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty

Still, Gayheart admitted that she’s trying to “stave off” her daughters’ entertainment careers while they’re still young. While Georgia starts to build her acting resume, her sister, Billie, has begun venturing into modeling.

“It can go either way,” Gayheart said. “Some kids grow up on sets and go, ‘I never want to do that again. I don’t want to do that.’ And some are just drawn to it. It’s in their blood.”

And beyond her project with Georgia, Gayheart has been getting ready to star in a stage adaptation of her 1999 teen black comedy *Jawbreaker.* She has been viewing her work as a helpful outlet for her grief.

“It is the season for me to say yes to things, to do things outside my comfort zone, to manifest what I want in the future, and I want my girls to learn that too,” she continued. “We all need to appreciate every day. This is not a dress rehearsal. Whatever you’re doing today is your life. So do it with enthusiasm. Do it with feelings, good or bad.”

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Georgia Geraldine Dane, Rebecca Gayheart, and Billie Beatrice Dane attend the Los Angeles premiere of A24’s ‘The Drama’ at DGA Theater Complex on March 17, 2026.

Phillip Faraone/Getty

Besides his career advice to his kids, Dane shared some heartfelt parting words with Georgia and Billie in an interview published after his death. The *Grey’s Anatomy *actor, who had battled ALS in the months before his passing, told them the “four things I’ve learned from this disease” during his taping of Netflix’s *Famous Last Words* in November 2025.

“First, live now. Right now. In the present. It’s hard, but I learned to do that,” he began. “For years, I have been wandering around mentally and lost in my head for long chunks of time, wallowing and worrying in self-pity, shame, and doubt. I’ve replayed decisions, second-guessed myself. ‘I shouldn’t have done this. I never should’ve that.’ No more. Out of pure survival, I am forced to stay in the present. But I don’t want to be anywhere else. The past contains regrets. The future remains unknown. So you have to live now.”

The *Charmed *alum went on to urge his children to fall in love, choose good friends, and face every challenge head-on.

“The two of you are different people. But you’re both strong and resilient. You inherited resiliency from me. That’s my superpower,” he quipped. “You knock me down, I bounce right up, and I keep coming back. I get up again, and again, and again. Mark says I’m like a cat, except a cat has nine lives, and I’m on number 15 — easily. So when something unexpected hits you, and it will because that’s life, fight and face it with honesty, integrity, and grace, even if it feels or seems insurmountable.”

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