All My Children star Esta TerBlanche died at age 51, Us Weekly confirmed.
“Esta was such a kind, loving, giving, and caring person,” TerBlanche’s manager, Annie Spoliansky, said in a statement to Us. “She cared so deeply for all people and animals. She had squirrels she fed and looked after daily, her two cats, and recent kittens that she cared for as her own children. Esta was never anything but generous and lovely to me, and I’m grateful to have known her for the time that I did, and devastated to learn of her passing.”
TerBlanche’s goddaughter Barbie Ashley told TMZ on Sunday, July 21, that the actress died unexpectedly on Thursday, July 18.
Per authorities, TerBlanche had allegedly been dead for a day before she was found inside her Hollywood home. TerBlanche’s rep Lisa Rodrigo confirmed the news via social media.
“I can not believe I am posting this. It’s with a heavy heart that my friend and client Esta TerBlanche passed away Thursday of natural causes. An autopsy report is pending,” she wrote via Facebook. “I am still processing and in shock. Esta was a beautiful soul in and out. I was proud to know her and work with her. More to come in the days ahead. Thank you for the messages so far. If I haven’t gotten to you, I will soon. May she RIP with the angels that she is.”
Rodrigo also paid tribute to TerBlanche in a statement to Us, writing, “I am heartbroken upon learning about Esta’s death. She was and always will be a beautiful soul who I will miss every day. I am proud to have known her and call her not only a client but a friend.”
TerBlanche starred on All My Children from 1997 to 2001, portraying Gillian. After her character was shot in the series, her on-screen husband Ryan Lavery (Cameron Mathison) removed her from life support. She later returned to the show for one episode in 2011, playing Gillian’s ghost.
“When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron. When we saw each other, we both started bawling,” TerBlanche told Soap Opera Digest earlier this month. “Back then, we hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was such a touching moment for us.”
Mathison paid tribute to his former costar on Sunday. “RIP my sweet princess,” he wrote via Instagram Story with a broken heart emoji over a photo from the soap opera.
He also shared a more recent selfie, revealing they kept in touch. “Esta helped me last year when [my dog] Red was sick and paralyzed and I was struggling 🙏 One of the sweetest people ever 💔,” Mathison wrote.
Since leaving All My Children, the outlet reported that TerBlanche opened her own spa and worked on documentaries in South Africa with filmmaker Michael Kastenbaum. She also hosted TV shows including Supermodel and Carte Blanche.
“I did a lot of traveling with those documentaries, and they were so amazing,” she said. “We did something on the biggest snake in the world, and really interesting pieces that were scary, wild and amazing. A lot were on animals so it was right up my alley.”
TerBlanche, who split her time between South Africa and the U.S., expressed a desire to get back in front of the camera. “It’s definitely something I would like to get back into,” she told the outlet.
