NCIS: Hawaiian Writer and Story Editor Yakira Chambers Dies of ‘Acute Asphyxiation’ at 42
- NCIS: Hawaii Writer and Story Editor Yakira Chambers has died at the age of 42
- Chambers’ preliminary cause of death is reportedly acute asphyxiation, family sources told Deadline
- The insecure actress was reportedly with her mother outside a mall in Newport Beach, California, last week when she collapsed
- Chambers joined NCIS: Hawaii as a staff writer ahead of the show’s first season in 2021. She wrote four episodes of the series
- NCIS Hawaii will pay tribute to Chambers during a three-hour NCIS crossover on January 2nd
NCIS: Hawaii Writer and Story Editor Yakira Chambers has died at the age of 42.
Chambers’ preliminary cause of death is reportedly acute asphyxiation, family sources told Deadline.
The insecure actress was reportedly with her mother outside a mall in Newport Beach, California, last week when she collapsed.
Tragedy: NCIS: Hawaii writer and story editor Yakira Chambers has died at the age of 42 (pictured August 2022)
Chambers joined NCIS: Hawaii as a staff writer ahead of the show’s first season in 2021. She wrote four episodes of the series.
She was promoted to story editor for the show’s second season, which premiered in late September.
NCIS Hawaii will pay tribute to Chambers during a three-hour NCIS crossover on January 2nd.
Cause of Death: Chambers’ preliminary cause of death is reportedly acute asphyxiation, family sources told Deadline (pictured August 2022).
Contributor: Chambers joined NCIS: Hawaii as a staff writer ahead of the show’s first season in 2021. She wrote four episodes of the series
Deadline also reported that Chambers was developing several projects, including a television pilot about Larry Hoover, a real-life gang leader-turned-author and community activist.
Another pilot, Myseducation, is reportedly based on “her own experiences growing up on the Southside [of Chicago] and attending a majority-white high school.’
Chambers also has several acting credits, including the Terry Crews film John Henry, an uncredited role on I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, and the HBO series Insecure.
Chambers earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University and worked for several years as a software quality assurance manager in St. Louis.
Finally, in 2020-2021, she joined ViacomCBS’s Writers Mentoring Program, a program of 11 writers from an applicant pool of 1,600 working in a 16-week workshop to learn more about the television industry.
Promotion: She was promoted to story editor for the show’s second season, which premiered in late September
Tribute: NCIS Hawaii will pay tribute to Chambers during a three-hour NCIS crossover on January 2nd
She is survived by her husband Anthony Welch, her stepson André Welch and her mother Constance Chambers.
A statement from the family said: “Her sudden and early death has affected us all deeply. Yakira was a light, a symbol of hope for our community, a steward of our culture and a representation of what it looks like to achieve your dreams.”
She continued, “Yakira’s passion went beyond her day-to-day work in the shop; She loved helping others find a way out of nowhere. She believed in justice and the demarginalization of people of color to create a level playing field for all.
“This passion has materialized in the form of her CureConstanceFoundation, an organization born out of a need to find financial options for people in health crises.”
Her family: She is survived by husband Anthony Welch, stepson André Welch and mother Constance Chambers