Rebecca Gayheart honored her and Eric Dane’s eldest daughter on her sweet 16, sharing a heartfelt tribute on Instagram in the wake of the Grey’s Anatomy star’s passing.
“Happy Sweet 16 to the sweetest girl — mommy loves you to the moon and back unconditionally forever and ever,” she captioned a throwback photo of Billie as a toddler.
In the image, the smiling birthday girl sported a large pink flower in her hair and a denim jumper dress while holding a pink ice cream cone.
Gayheart also posted a montage of family snapshots featuring Billie spending time with loved ones, including her mom, her late father, and younger sister Georgia. The clip was set to Fleetwood Mac’s classic hit “Landslide.”
Rebecca Gayheart shared a sweet 16th birthday tribute to daughter Billie, following Eric Dane’s death.
Rebecca Gayheart shared more nostalgic family photos, including snapshots with Billie’s younger sister, Georgia.
In a repost on Instagram Stories, the sisters beamed as they rode around in a pink-and-purple kid-sized Jeep. The caption read, “Happy birthday Billie,” along with the hashtag #Thisisixteen.
The birthday tribute from the Noxema model came just days after the death of her husband, Eric Dane for his role in Euphoria
Eric Dane, the Grey’s Anatomy star, seen here with Rebecca Gayheart and their two daughters, publicly shared his ALS diagnosis in April 2025.
“Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight,” the family noted.
A death certificate obtained by People on Monday confirmed that Dane died of respiratory failure, with the underlying cause listed as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Dane and Gayheart had called off their divorce in March, before his ALS diagnosis in April 2024. The couple, married in 2004, had two daughters together: Billie and Georgia.
Though still married, Dane was romantically linked to Priya Jain and Janelle Shirtcliff during his illness, while Gayheart has been connected to Peter Morton.
In November, Rebecca Gayheart — pictured here with Billie in a throwback photo — opened up about why she withdrew her divorce papers.
Originally filed in 2018, Gayheart revealed during an interview on the Broad Ideas podcast that she decided to retract the filing amid Eric Dane’s ALS battle to teach their daughters the importance of standing by family in difficult times.
“We tell them, ‘We show up for people no matter what. He is our family. He is your father,’” she explained, emphasizing the lesson for Billie and Georgia.
Eric Dane posthumously shared his final words to Billie and Georgia in an episode of Netflix’s Famous Last Words. He is seen here in Los Angeles in November.
Rebecca Gayheart also revealed that during Dane’s illness, she focused on ensuring their daughters felt “taken care of,” even as the family faced moments that were “hard and sad and bad.”
In the episode, Dane reflected on his life with his daughters: “I tried. I stumbled sometimes, but I tried. Overall, we had a blast, didn’t we?”
