South African actress Charlbi Dean died of bacterial sepsis complicated by asplenia, the New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled on Thursday.
The 32-year-old Triangle of Sadness star had died in a New York City hospital on August 29, and now the official cause of death has finally been revealed after a three-month investigation. Dean was admitted to the hospital after coming down unexpectedly with a sudden, mysterious illness.
“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,” Dean’s brother Jacobs earlier told Rolling Stone.
The medical examiner ruled her death an accident, revealing that Dean had been infected with a bacteria called Capnocytophaga, which is commonly found in the oral cavities of dogs, cats, and humans and can cause an infection under certain conditions.
It’s not known how Dean contracted the bacteria, but the absence of her spleen {asplenia) was listed as a contributing factor. She had had her spleen removed a decade ago after being involved in a serious automobile accident.
Born in Cape Town as Charlbi Dean Kriek, the actress began a modeling career as a teenager before choosing an acting career. She made her debut in 2010 starring in the film Spud. She also appeared in Spud 2: The Madness Continues (2013), Blood in the Water (2016), Don’t Sleep (2017), An Interview With God (2018) and Porthole (2018). Most recently, she appeared in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, which won the Pame d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for two Golden Globes.
Upon her death in August, Östlund posted a tribute on Instagram in which he wrote: “It is an honor to have gotten to know and work with her. 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.”
When the film premiered at Cannes in May, Dean was ecstatic, telling reporters: “For me, I’m like, I’ve already won. I’m already at Cannes with the movie. That’s so unbelievable. Anything is just a cherry on top at this point for me, you know?”
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