Did James Ransone have children? 'Generation Kill' star's family details emerge after his death at 46

James Ransone, the actor best remembered for his raw portrayal of Ziggy Zobotka on The Wire, has passed away at the age of 46. In the wake of his death, it has been confirmed that the actor is survived by his wife, Jamie McPhee, and their two children.

James Ransone (James Finley Ransone III) was born on June 2, 1979, in Maryland to parents Joyce (née Peterson) and James Finley Ransone II, a Vietnam War veteran.

He attended the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson, as well as the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan for a year.

Apart from his role as Ziggy Zobotka on The Wire in 2003, where he appeared in 12 episodes, James Ransone also starred in the heist movie Inside Man (2006) by Spike Lee, and as Cpl. Josh Ray Person in Generational Kill. He also appeared in How to Make It in America (2010), Treme (2010), Starlet (2012), and Low Winter Sun (2012).

James Ransone then took on a supporting character in the hit supernatural-horror movie Sinister. In 2014, he starred in In a Valley of Violence, and in the indie comedy-drama film Tangerine in 2015.

He returned to the sequel of Sinister in that year, reprising his character as Deputy So-and-So. Then, in 2019, he played adult Eddie Kaspbrak in the horror movie It: Chapter Two.

James Ransone left behind his wife, Jamie, and their two kids, Jack and Violet, whom they mostly kept out of the spotlight for years. Reports also revealed that he was close to his parents.

Also Read: What was James Ransone’s net worth? Fortune explored as the ‘Sinister’ actor dies at 46

James Ransone cause of death revealed

The actor passed away on Dec. 19, 2025, after the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He was 46.

Ransone had developed heroin addiction and a debt of $30,000 when he was 27. He opened up about his struggles in a 2016 interview with Interview Magazine, after he got sober, sharing:

"People think I got sober working on the 'Generation Kill.' I didn't. I sobered up six or seven months before that. I remember going to Africa and I was going to be there for almost a year. I was number two on the call sheet and I was like, 'I think somebody made a mistake. This is too much responsibility for me.'"

Then, in 2018, he dropped a tell-all on his Instagram account, claiming that his Math tutor, Timothy Rualo, sexually abused him over the course of six months in their home in 1992. He wrote:

"Hey Tim. You may not remember me. My name is James Ransone, but you'd know me as PJ."

The actor went on, revealing gut-churning details about the alleged abuse of "washing blood and feces" from his sheets. He added that he was 12 then and was too ashamed to let anyone know.

Ransone pointed out that the abuse was what led him to heroin addiction and alcoholism. He took the accusations to the Baltimore County police in March 2020, but they declined to pursue the charges after an investigation.

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One year later, Ransone told an outlet:

"The bigger issue for me is that he was around other children. This isn’t really about me as a victim anymore."

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