Esta TerBlanche death: All My Children star dies aged 51

Actor played Hungarian princess Gillian Andrassy Lavery on soap opera from 1997 to 2001

Esta TerBlanche (ABC/Everett/Shutterstock)

Esta TerBlanche, the South African actor best known for playing Gillian Andrassy Lavery on All My Children, has died at 51.

TerBlanche died at her Los Angeles home on Thursday, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office records. The cause of death has not been announced yet.

Her publicist, Lisa Rodrigo, confirmed the news in a post on Facebook.

“I can not believe I am posting this. It’s with a heavy heart that my friend and client Esta TerBlanche passed away Thursday of natural causes. An autopsy report is pending. I am still processing and in shock,” she said.

“Esta was a beautiful soul in and out. I was proud to know her and work with her. More to come in the days ahead. Thank you for the messages so far. If I haven’t gotten to you, I will soon.

“May she RIP with the angels that she is.”

TerBlanche played Hungarian princess Gillian on All My Children from 1997 to 2001.

Her enemies-to-lovers plot with Cameron Mathison’s Ryan Lavery was extremely popular with viewers.

TerBlanche’s storyline ended after her husband removed her from life support following a bullet wound suffered during an assassination attempt. She returned in 2011 as Gillian’s ghost.

“When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron. When we saw each other, we both started bawling,” TerBlanche told Soap Opera Digest.

“Back then, we hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was such a touching moment for us.”

Mathison paid tribute to his co-star and posted a message on his Instagram Stories on Sunday.

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

Born on 7 January 1973 in Rustenberg, South Africa, TerBlanche started her career at 16 hosting a children’s television show and a maths show called Math No Problem.

She was crowned Miss Teen South Africa in 1991.

Soon after, she was cast as Beatrice “Bienkie” Naudé Hartman on Egoli: Place of Gold, the first South African soap opera.

She worked on it from 1992 to 1995, before moving to the US and getting cast on All My Children.

“People were so kind to me,” she told Soaps in Depth in 2022 about her time on Egoli.

“It was my first time working in the industry with all these professional people. Everybody was really nice to me.”

After her run on All My Children ended, she returned to South Africa. She opened a spa and worked with filmmaker Michael Kastenbaum on documentaries. She also hosted television shows like Supermodel and Carte Blanche.