• Charlbi Dean Kriek died at a hospital in New York City yesterday.
• She was seen as a rising star because of her roles in Black Lightning and Triangle of Sadness.
• Tributes have been paid to the South African, who is survived by her fiance Luke Volker.

According to her representative, the South African actor and model Charlbi Dean Kriek passed unexpectedly yesterday as a result of a “unexpected, sudden illness.”

Charlbi was seen as a rising star because she most recently starred in the critically acclaimed movie Triangle of Sadness (2022) and had previously appeared on the TV programme Black Lightning.

She is reportedly survived by her fiance Luke Volker, to whom she had declared her engagement in an Instagram photo that she published in April of this year.

Sources told TMZ that Charlbi died at a hospital in New York City and that she suffered from a “sudden illness” before her death. The reason of death has not yet been disclosed.

The actor is well-known for his roles as Syonide, a recurrent character, in Black Lightning’s first two seasons on the CW. In 2018, she made an appearance in nine episodes of the programme.

Her character was a highly accomplished assassin who had received training by Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III’s Tobias Whale, the main antagonist of the programme. Later, Syonide was eliminated.

Charlbi has pursued further cinematic projects since her appearance in the superhero drama, which is based on DC Comics characters. One of these is the critically acclaimed Triangle of Sadness.

Playwright Jeremy O’Harris tweeted: “[She] was such an exciting performer to me after seeing her in Triangle of Sadness.Tributes have been paid to Charlbi.

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