Charlbi Dean: DC's 'Black Lightning' actor dies at age 32 after sudden illness
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Charlbi Dean, the South African actor and model who had a breakthrough role in 'Triangle of Sadness,' which won the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, has died at age 32. Dean died Monday, August 29, in a New York hospital as a result of a sudden, unexpected illness, her representatives said Tuesday. She also had a recurring role as the assassin Syonide in the DC comics television series 'Black Lightning,' which aired on the CW Network from 2018 to 2021. In the television series, her character was an antihero with bulletproof skin and incredible fighting skills. Her work also includes the films, 'Blood In the Water,' 'Don't Sleep,' 'An Interview with God,' and 'Porthole.'
Born Charlbi Dean Kriek, she was born in Cape Town, where she also grew up. According to The Guardian, Dean began modeling as a child and was frequently seen on runways and magazine covers in the decades that followed. In 2008, she survived a fatal car accident in which she broke her wrist, four ribs and elbow, and suffered a collapsed lung.
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Charlbi made her acting debut in the 2010 film Spud, an adaptation of a popular South African novel about a boys' boarding school starring Troye Sivan and John Cleese. She reprised her role in a 2013 sequel. In Triangle of Sadness, the first English-language film from Swedish 'Force Majeure' director Ruben Östlund, Dean and Harris Dickinson play a pair of prominent fashion models on a cruise for the ultra-rich that descends into chaos. Woody Harrelson also plays the ship's captain. The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in May and will be released in October in the US and most European countries.
At the festival, before the film won the award, Dean said simply having the film screened at the event meant she had "already won." "I'm already at Cannes with the movie, that's so unbelievable," she said. "Anything is just a cherry on top at this point for me, you know?" When their film won, Charlbi wrote "Congratulations our family we did it!!! @ruben_ostlund you're the GOAT I'm forever thankful for you for trusting me to be a part 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 are some pics of the year in Sweden and Greece during the pandemic. Forever and always our @triangleofsadness family."
She was engaged to the male model Luke Volker, whose most recent Instagram post pays tribute to Dean and her performance in 'Triangle of Sadness,' writing that he “Couldn’t be more proud” of her.