by Thinus Ferreira
The South African actress and model Charlbi Dean has died in New York on Monday after her heart stopped twice after going to hospital and doctors couldn't revive her after her heart stopped for a third time. She was 32.
American media was first to report this week that the South African model and actress known for her role as the recurring character of Syonide in the superhero series Black Lighting, available on Netflix in South Africa, has died.
Charlbi Dean was born as Charlbi Dean Kriek on 5 February 1990 in Cape Town and she began modelling when he was 6 years old, with the film adaptation of Spud which was her first on-screen role in 2010 with Troye Sivan.
She also appeared in the sequel in 2013, Spud: The Madness Continues and was also cast for roles in the films Death Race 3: Inferno (2013), Blood in the Water (2016), Don’t Sleep (2017) and Porthole (2018). In 2017 she appeared in an episode of the American drama series Elementary, after which she snagged the role of Syonide in Black Lightning.
The exact cause of her death is not known but in 2009 she was involved in a car accident which damaged her health in which she broke a wrist as well as four ribs, broke her elbow and had a collapsed lung.
Charlbi Dean was living in Los Angeles with her fiance Luke Volker but was in New York when she died.
Her brother Alexis Jacobs in a media interview said Charlbi Dean woke Luke Volker on Monday night and said she needed to go to hospital and wasn't feeling well.
At hospital her symptoms got worse and her heart stopped. She was revived but her heart stopped a second time and she was revived a second time. Charlbi Dean died when her heart stopped for a third time with doctors unable to revive her again.An autopsy is being done to determine the cause of death.
Charlbi Dean will appear in the film Triangle of Sadness which is released in October.
