A spokesman for the New York City Medical Examiner has revealed the cause of death of Charlbi Dean, the South African actress and model who starred in the Ruben Ostlund-directed Triangle of Sadness. She died suddenly and unexpectedly on August 29 at the age of 32 in New York City.
Per People Mag, the actress, born Charlbi Dean Kriek, died of bacterial sepsis after being exposed to the Capnocytophaga bacterium. She was predisposed to the disease after having her spleen removed following a car accident in Cape Town in 2009.
Dean was on the verge of a major career breakthrough at the time of her death, having last starred opposite Harris Dickinson in Ostlund’s dark comedy Triangle of Sadness. The film, in which she played model Yaya, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May and became Östlund’s second consecutive film to win the Palme d’Or.
“Charlbi’s sudden death is a shock and a tragedy,” Östlund wrote on Instagram immediately after her death. “It is an honor to have met her and to work with her. Charlbi had a caring and sensitivity that lifted her peers and the entire film crew. The thought that she will no longer be by our side in the future makes me very sad. My thoughts are with her loved ones, family and fiancé Luke at this difficult time.”