Charlbi Dean, a South African actress and model best known for starring in the upcoming film Triangle of Sadness, is dead at 32, Vulture has confirmed. She died of a sudden illness, though the specific illness has not yet been identified, according to TMZ. Dean began her career at the age of 14 before leaving high school for homeschooling and soon becoming a dominant face in the burgeoning South African fashion scene. In 2006, she was the South African face of Gavin Rajah’s Paris couture show, the first South African collection to show in Paris, according to the South African Sunday Times. At age 18, she was in a near-fatal car accident.
In 2010, at the age of 20, Dean made her acting debut in the film Spud alongside a young Troye Sivan. She later reprised her role in Spud 2: The Madness Continues in 2013. She also played Syonide in nine episodes of the television series Black Lightning.
Her biggest role to date was as one of the leads in the upcoming Ruben Östlund film Triangle of Sadness, in which she plays Yaya, an influencer who gets invited on a yacht with her model boyfriend, Carl (Harris Dickinson). Triangle of Sadness made its Cannes premiere this year, winning the prestigious Palme d’Or and getting acquired by Parasite distributor Neon. Dean’s performance can be seen when the film makes its theatrical debut on October 7.
