Actress Charlbi Dean (32) dies a sudden and mysterious death

Charlbi Dean, the South African actor and model who had a breakout role in “Triangle of Sadness”, which won this year’s top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, has died at age 32. Dean died Monday at a hospital in New York from a sudden unexpected illness, her representatives said Tuesday.

- Charlbi Dean dies at age 32
  
  A sudden illness has taken the life of South African actress and model Charlbi Dean Kriek. She passed away on Monday, August 29 in a New York hospital, Deadline reports.

Top model and actress

Charlbi Dean was a breakout actress and an established model. DC fans may recognize her from the superhero series ‘Black Lightning.’

Cause of death

A representative for Charlbi Dean confirmed the news to TMZ, but there were no details about the cause of death. The only information released, was that the actress had died from “an unexpected sudden illness,” per TMZ.

Shining at the Cannes film festival in May

Just recently, the actress had been in the spotlights for the release of her new movie, ‘Triangle of Sadness.’ It was the biggest project of her acting career, and Charlbi shared the poster with Woody Harrelson.

Crowned with a Palme D’Or

The film, directed by Ruben Östlund, comes out in October 2022 but already made a big impression at the Cannes film festival. It won the gala’s highest award, a Palme D’Or.

Over a decade in acting

Other films Charlbi Dean participated in were ‘Spud,’ ‘Blood in the Water,’ ‘Don’t Sleep,’ and ‘Porthole,’ to name a few. All of these movies date from the past twelve years.

Born in Cape Town

Charlbi Dean Kriek was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 5, 1990. As a child, she was already determined to make it in showbiz.

A child star

At a very young age, Charlbi began modeling. She would appear in catalogues and commercials by the age of six. Then, at age twelve, she signed with Alfa Model Management. The modeling work was so hectic that she had to be homeschooled from age fourteen.

Teenage top model

As a teenager, Charlbi appeared on the covers of Vogue and Tatler magazine. She also did “racy shoots,” as the South African Sunday Times described them, for brands like Gucci, United Colors of Benetton, and Ralph Lauren.

A terrible accident

In 2008, 18-year-old Charlbi and her boyfriend Ashton Schnehage (25, also a model) got into a severe car crash. Ashton told The Sunday Times that “he struggled to get her out of the car” and that she was rescued “shortly before the vehicle went up in flames.”

She survived

In the accident, Charlbi “damaged two vertebrae, broke her wrist, four ribs and an elbow. She also suffered other internal injuries, including a collapsed left lung,” The Sunday Times reported. But she survived; it wasn’t her time yet.

Beginnings as an actress

After she got out of the hospital, Charlbi took a break from her career. It wouldn’t last long, though, because in 2010 she appeared in her first movie: the South African high school drama ‘Spud.’

From Cape Town to Hollywood

Acting was always her priority over modeling, Charlbi would later tell Vogue Scandinavia. After ‘Spud,’ she made at least one film per year, spending more and more time in Hollywood.

Charlbi Dean in ‘Black Lightning’

In the superhero series ‘Black Lightning’ on The CW, Charlbi played the anti-heroine Syonide. Her recurring character was a trained assassin with special powers.

Engaged to Luke Volker

As for her personal life, Charlbi was engaged to the model Luke Volker. He too was South African, but they spent most of their time in New York.