Hallmark actress and director Lea Thompson, 64, shared in a heartbreaking Instagram post that she and her family experienced the unexpected loss of her beloved horse, Peppito.
Thompson shared the news with her fans on Thursday, May 7, saying that Peppito’s health rapidly declined in under 24 hours — something Thompson was unprepared for, as Peppito showed no signs of illness before the day that he died.
“Today our beloved Peppito passed away. He was born in our yard 15 years ago. He was our beautiful spirited boy. I made this video this morning. I was so happy to see him. He seemed fine, then hours later he was sick and before the vet could come he had a seizure and went down in front of us. Life is shocking. Death is so final. I am reminded to live each day fully. I am glad I got to tell him today how lucky I was to know him. ❤️,” Thompson wrote.
Lea Thompson Grieves Her Horse Peppito
Thompson, who lives on a farm in Los Angeles with a variety of farm animals, suffered the unimaginable loss of another one of her horses, Nordic, back in June 2024. Nordic was 34 years old when Thompson and her family had to make the decision to euthanize him after his body began to weaken.
Thompson described Nordic as “safe and calm and loving,” adding that he always made her family laugh when he walked by their kitchen window — a true “friend,” as Thompson shared in an Instagram post.
The Hallmark actress, who starred as Cathy Davis in the “Jane Doe” mystery movie series, opened up about her farm life on “Live with Kelly and Mark” in 2022. Thompson joked about the unordinary nature of living on a farm, saying that one of her four horses thinks they are a “lawn mower,” so she and her family rarely have to cut the grass.
Although she relocated to farmland, away from the inner hustle of L.A., Thompson is still active in film and television.
Lea Thompson Shifts From Actress to Director
In a March interview with Woman’s World, Thompson opened up about why she embarked on directing productions instead of focusing on landing starring roles. Notably, Thompson began directing in the early 2000s with Hallmark. She did, however, continue with acting by taking roles in productions such as “Next, Stop Christmas” (2021), “Mark, Mary & Some Other People” (2021), “Dinner in America” (2020) and more, Thompson’s IMDb reported.
“Only a small percent of roles in Hollywood go to women over 50, and out of that, the best parts are going to go to the people who have the most awards. A lot of parts are ones I didn’t want to do,” she explained.
Thompson, whose claim to fame was her role as Lorraine Baines McFly in the “Back to the Future” trilogy (1985-1990), continued by sharing that she shifted her focus to directing after realizing that influencing from behind the lens would hold more longevity for her in a field where she thrived.
“I saw that coming, and I thought, ‘How can I stay relevant in this business that I love without having to fight over scraps in the acting world?’” Thompson continued. “So I started directing with the Hallmark TV movie series Jane Doe. Since I was already the star, they were much more inclined to give that work to me, and I really enjoyed it.”
