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Helen Mirren pays tribute to late stepson Rio Hackford

Helen Mirren has paid tribute to her stepson Rio Hackford following his death last week.

Provided by Cover Media Helen Mirren

Rio, an actor and club owner, passed away on Thursday in Huntington Beach, California at the age of 51. His half-brother Alex Hackford told Variety on Friday that Rio died after an illness.

The British actress, who is married to Rio's director father Taylor Hackford, paid tribute to her stepson on Instagram over the weekend.

She shared a close-up photo of Rio laughing and simply wrote "El Rio" in the caption.

In the comments, The Princess Bride actor Cary Elwes posted, "So sorry for your loss. May his memory always be a blessing."

High Fidelity screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis also wrote a lengthy Instagram post in honour of his late friend, who he described as "the apex curator of experience".

"We (his friends) are a planetary system and Rio was the star, the center of gravitational pull and balance, also the system's source of light. And we are so much LESS today, now. And the world makes so much LESS sense, as if that were even possible," he posted.

Underneath his post, Lake Bell commented, "This is a massive loss", and The Craft actress Robin Tunney added, "I was so sad to hear about Rio passing... He was too nice to be that handsome. Too cool to be that relatable. My Gos (sic) that man was special. RIP Rio."

Rio appeared in films including Pretty Woman, Jonah Hex, and Swingers, and TV shows such as Treme, Pam & Tommy, The Mandalorian and The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

He also owned several bars, including Monty in Los Angeles, Homestead in San Francisco, and Pal's Lounge and One-Eyed Jacks in New Orleans.

Rio, whose mother is Taylor's first wife Georgie Lowres, is survived by his musician wife Libby Grace and two children.

Reference: Cover News: