John Travolta and Kelly Preston mourn the passing of their son Jett

John Travolta is mourning the death of his son Jett.

Hollywood actor John Travolta was said to be devastated last night following the death of his 16-year-old son during a family holiday in the Bahamas.

Jett, the star’s eldest child with wife and actress Kelly Preston, suffered a fatal seizure.

Despite desperate attempts to revive him, the teenager died at the family’s oceanfront home at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island, Michael Ossi confirmed.

Ossi, the Travolta family lawyer, said Jett had a history of seizures.

No exact cause of death was given, but his parents have said in the past that Jett suffered from Kawasaki Syndrome, a rare condition that can lead to heart disease.

Kawasaki disease predominantly affects young children, with 80 per cent of patients younger than five years old, and boys are more likely to suffer with it than girls.

The condition is characterised by high fever, skin rashes and a swelling of the lymph nodes, but can lead to heart attacks caused by inflammation of blood vessels in the coronary arteries.

Kawasaki disease is one of the most common causes of acquired heart disease among children in the U.S.


Jett was understood to have been found unconscious in a bathtub and was rushed to Rand Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

In a 2002 interview, Preston said her son became ‘very, very sick with high fever and swollen glands and peeling fingers and rash all over his body’ when he was three years old.

She believes exposure to carpet-cleaning chemicals was responsible for his illness and as a result the Jerry Maguire actress became a crusader for the development and use of safe household chemicals.

Travolta and wife Kelly Preston, pictured at the premiere of Hairspray last year.

Travolta, who named one of his many airplanes after his son, said the teenager loved outdoor pursuits.

The couple said recently they were hoping to have another baby. They married in 1991 and have a daughter, Ella, who is eight.

The actor, who has starred in a string of hit films over more than three decades, including Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction and Hairspray, was previously involved with actress Diana Hyland, who died of breast cancer in 1977.