Editor's note: Chuck Norris' family announced the actor's death on his official Instagram account on March 20, 2026. Numerous reputable news media outlets then also reported on his passing at the age of 86.
One might say celebrity death hoaxes don't happen to Chuck Norris, Norris happens to celebrity death hoaxes. (If you missed out on that particular era of internet humor, keep reading to learn more.)
In May 2020, Snopes readers inquired about a rumor circulating on social media that caused them to fear the actor known for fighting Bruce Lee in the 1972 martial arts film "The Way of the Dragon" and battling bad guys in the TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger" had succumbed to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease.
Norris, 80, is alive and well, but he has been the target of death hoaxes in the past. In 2012, scammers used a Norris death hoax as a vehicle to circulate a survey scam on Facebook.
We sent a message to Norris's talent agency, MN2S, asking for information about Norris' health but received no response. However, no news stories have reported any illness that has befallen the actor. Reports that Norris died from the COVID-19 disease appear to be nothing more than a variation of a celebrity death hoax.
Some social media users used the hoax as an opportunity to add to the unending list of "Chuck Norris facts," a long-running internet meme in which jokes about Norris' tough persona use extreme hyperbole.
"This just in," one Twitter user wrote. "Coronavirus has tested positive for Chuck Norris and is now in quarantine."