Charlbi Dean has tragically passed away from an unexpected illness, according to reports from Deadline. The South African actress who began her career as a fashion model influencer was a rising star in Hollywood after lending herself to a few projects. Her rep tells The Hollywood Reporter Dean died of a sudden illness Monday at a hospital in New York City at 32 years old.
Dean was best known for playing Syonide, a recurring character on The CW's Black Lightning, a DC-comic-based series. Her credits also include roles in Blood in the Water, Don't Sleep, An Interview With God, and Porthole. The young actress was born in Cape Town and made her onscreen debut in the South African film, Spud, in 2010, and returned for a sequel in 2013. In addition, she appeared as a guest on a 2017 episode of CBS' Sherlock Holmes drama, Elementary. As a model, she was featured on the cover of the South African GQ and Elle.
Dean will appear in Triangle of Sadness next, starring alongside Woody Harrelson in the comedy from NEON. The film will make its way to theaters later this year on Oct. 7.
Triangle of Sadness Would Be Dean's Breakout Role
Triangle of Sadness may be one of the year's biggest movies, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year. In addition, the film is set to premiere at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. In the movie, Dean plays a model, Yaya, one of the insanely wealthy guests invited onto the yacht, helmed by Woody Harrelson. She joined Harris Dickinson, Vicki Berlin, Dolly De Leon, Timoleon Gketsos, Alicia Eriksson, and Zlatko Buric on the Ruben Östlund helmed film.
Following the awards given to the film after the Cannes festival, Dean took to Instagram to express her gratitude for Östlund. She says, "Congratulations our family we did it!!! @ruben_ostlund you're the GOAT I'm forever thankful for you trusting me to be apart of your genius and my dear @sinaostlund 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."
You can see Charlbi Dean's work when Triangle of Sadness releases this October.