She was a true star-in-the-making and a brilliant actress.
Tragically, Charlbi Dean died at the age of 32 – and no one could understand how it could’ve happened.
But now, the New York City medical examiner has confirmed just how Charlbi passed away, according to Fox News.
South African actress Charlbi Dean was a pretty unknown name before her breakout role in Triangle of Sadness, a movie that premiered in 2022.
As an actress who essentially came from out of nowhere, she did a fantastic job portraying an aspiring model and influencer. The satirical movie, directed by Ruben Östlund, was an instant hit – Triangle of Sadness won this year’s top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the Palme d’Or.
The 32-year-old Charlbi starred alongside Hollywood veteran Woody Harrelson and Harris Dickinson, but still managed to shine.
Sadly, just before the movie looked set to catapult Charlbi into stardom, she was forced to seek medical attention. On 29 August 2022, she was admitted to a hospital in New York City after complaining of feeling unwell.
At first, her symptoms were “minor,” but Charlbi asked her fiancé to take her to the emergency room just in case.
In a matter of hours, she had died.
“This happened literally within the span of a day: getting a headache, going to sleep, waking up her boyfriend and saying please take me to the hospital,” her brother, Alex Jacobs, told Rolling Stone.
Her family was, of course, devastated. Naturally, the thing that made things worse was that they weren’t entirely sure what had happened to her. There was lots of speculation – but all they could do was wait for the results of the autopsy.
Cause of death
After four long months, the New York City medical examiner finally confirmed what caused Charlbi Dean’s death. According to the officials, she succumbed to bacterial sepsis.
According to Fox News Digital, the medical examiner documented her cause of death as “bacterial (Capnocytophaga) sepsis complicating asplenia due to remote blunt force trauma of torso.”
One might ask how such a young woman could die of bacterial sepsis and how it could have happened so quickly. Perhaps the answer lies in Charlbi’s past.
In 2008, Charlbi was involved in a horrible car accident and left seriously wounded. She suffered a broken back, broken ribs, and a broken wrist. The model and actress, then 18 years old, had life-saving surgery, during which surgeons had to remove her spleen.
Now, whenever someone’s spleen is removed, there’s a small risk that a serious infection may develop.
”[The spleen is] involved in fighting off infections, and that could have had something to do what happened,” Alex Jacobs said in August.
”Her spleen not being there just added on to the reason why she perhaps couldn’t fight it off.”
Mourned by many
Charlbi Dean was born on 5 February 1990 and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. She started modeling as a young girl and thereafter traveled the world.
She made her acting debut in 2010, portraying Amanda in the South African comedy-drama Spud. After that, she appeared in a Spud sequel, before going on to star in movies like Don’t Sleep and An Interview with God.
But her breakthrough would come via her leading role in Ruben Östlund’s satirical film Triangle of Sadness. Östlund was in shock when he got the news in August, just before the international release of his movie.
“It is an honour to have gotten to know and work with her,” he wrote on his Instagram.
”Charlbi had a care and sensitivity that lifted her colleagues and the entire film crew. The thought that she will not be by our side in the future makes me very sad.”
The Guardian’s famous film critic, Peter Bradshaw, wrote: “Charlbi Dean was a true star-in-the-making. Her loss is a huge one.”
