Charlbi Dean, the South African actor and model known for the films Triangle of Sadness and Spud and the CW superhero show Black Lightning, has died from a sudden illness at the age of 32.
The news of Dean’s passing included that a representative for the actor said she “passed away Monday from an unexpected sudden illness,” according to TMZ. Though the specific illness Dean had is not currently known, she apparently died in a hospital in New York, the Associated Press reported.
Tragically, Dean’s most recent film represented something of a high water mark in her career, as Triangle of Sadness just recently won the Cannes Film Festival’s highest honor, the Palm D’Or, back in May, a fact that the up-and-coming star celebrated on her Instagram account.
“Congratulations our family we did it!!! [Writer-director Ruben Östlund] you’re the GOAT I’m forever thankful for you for trusting me to be apart of your genius and my dear [Sina Ostlund]. Can’t believe I had the best year making this during one of the hardest times in my life. Here’s some pics of the year in Sweden and Greece during the pandemic. Forever and always our @triangleofsadness family 🤍”.
In Triangle of Sadness, which co-stars Woody Harrelson, Dean plays a rich model who is invited to a luxury yacht, but things soon go horribly awry in the satirical comedy-drama, as People reported.
In real life, Dean was a model and often posted her photos on her Instagram account.
She also portrayed the recurring assassin character Syonide on the DC series Black Lightning, which aired from 2018-2021 on the CW.
Born and raised in Cape Town, Dean began her modeling career as a child and soon graced both fashion runways and magazine covers throughout the years.
Having survived a car accident that almost ended her life in 2009, Dean made her acting debut the following year, in the south African film Spud, and a 2013 sequel, based on a novel of the same name about a boys’ boarding school.
