Charlbi Dean, a South African model and actress on the cusp of stardom thanks to her role in the 2022 Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness, died Monday. She was 32. Dean also starred as the assassin Syonide on The CW’s DC Comics series Black Lightning.
Dean died in New York City from an unexpected illness, Variety reports. She made her acting debut in the 2010 South African film Spud and returned for its 2013 sequel, Spud 2: The Madness Continues. She also starred in the movies Death Race: Inferno (2013), Blood in the Water (2016), Don’t Sleep (2017), and An Interview with God (2018). In 2017, she appeared in an episode of CBS’ Elementary.
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The actress’ first major film was Triangle of Sadness, a satire by writer/director Ruben Östlund (The Square). Dean and Harris Dickinson star as a celebrity couple who are invited on a cruise for the ultra-rich, alongside wealthy social media influencers. They soon learn their fellow guests are really criminals, including a British arms dealer, a Russian oligarch, and a Marxist captain. A class conflict unfolds after only a few survivors are left on a deserted island.
Triangle of Sadness also stars Woody Harrelson as the ship’s captain. Dolly de Leon, Zlatko Buric, Iris Berben, Vicki Berlin, Henrik Dorsin, Jean-Christophe Folly, Amanda Walker, Oliver Ford Davies, and Sunnyi Melles also star. It was a huge hit at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, prompting distributor Neon to spend $8 million to acquire U.S. distribution rights. The label will release the film in the U.S. on Oct. 8. It will also play at the New York Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Congratulations our family we did it!!! [Östlund], you’re the GOAT I’m forever thankful for you for trusting me to be a part of your genius, and my dear [Sina Ostlund], Can’t believe I had the best year making this during one of the hardest times in my life,” Dean wrote on Instagram after the film won the Palme d’Or. “Here’s some pics of the year in Sweden and Greece during the pandemic. Forever and always our [Triangle of Sadness] family.”
Outside of her acting career, Dean started modeling at age 6. She signed with Alfa Model Management at 12 and has appeared on dozens of magazine covers. Dean was born Charlbi Dean Kriek on Feb. 5, 1990, in Cape Town. In January, she signed with UTA, reports Deadline.
