Esta TerBlanche, ‘All My Children’ actress, dies at age 51

(CNN) — Esta TerBlanche, the South African actress best known for her role as Gillian Andrassy Lavery on “All My Children,” has died, according to her manager Annie Spoliansky. She was 51.

TerBlanche died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to online records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The cause of death has not yet been determined.

Spoliansky told CNN in a statement on Sunday that “Esta was such a kind, loving, generous and caring person.”

“She cared so deeply for all people and animals,” Spoliansky’s statement read. “Esta was always generous and kind to me, and I am grateful to have known her for the time I did, and I am devastated to learn of her passing.”

TerBlanche played the role of Gillian Andrassy Lavery in the famous ABC soap series “All My Children” between 1997 and 2001.

She reprised her role in one episode in 2011 and appeared in over 100 episodes.

CNN has reached out to ABC for comment.

Cameron Mathison, who played TerBlanche’s on-screen husband Ryan Lavery on “All My Children,” paid tribute to his co-star via his Instagram Stories on Sunday.

“RIP my sweet princess,” Mathison wrote, adding that TerBlanche was “one of the sweetest people ever.”

TerBlanche began her career as an actress in South Africa, where she was born and raised, before moving to the US in 1995.

Before moving, she was crowned Miss Teen South Africa in 1991 and appeared in South Africa’s first soap opera, “Egoli: Place of Gold”, as the character Bienke Naudé Hartman between 1992 and 1995.

In a 2022 interview with Soaps in Depth, TerBlanche said that landing the role on “Egoli” was a “dream come true.”

“People were so nice to me,” she said of her time on the show. “It was the first time I was working in the industry with all these professionals. Everyone was really nice to me.”

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