All My Children actress Esta TerBlanche found dead at LA home as police investigate cause of death

Soap opera star Esta TerBlanche, who played the character of Princess Gillian Andrassy in the hit ABC show All My Children in the late 90s, has died.

The actress' representative, Lisa Rodrigo, from the publicity company All My Promotions, confirmed the news in a Facebook post shared on Saturday, July 20, writing,

"I cannot 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."

Rodrigo called the late soap opera star a "beautiful soul in and out" with whom she was proud to work with in the same statement.

Annie Spolianky, TerBlanche's talent manager, also confirmed her death in a statement to People on Sunday, July 21, further saying,

"We are deeply saddened by this news. As for a personal statement, I'd like to say that Esta was such a kind, loving, giving, and caring person."

Not much was shared about TerBlanche's death, but according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, Esta TerBlanche died on Thursday, July 19, in her residence in Los Angeles. Her body was on the scene by authorities on July 19 with no signs of foul play, although the investigation into the exact cause of her death is still ongoing.

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Esta TerBlanche is best known for her character as a Hungarian princess in 1997's All My Children

The South African actress started her acting career in the 90s, debuting as the Gillian Andrassy Lavery in the All My Children, which premiered on ABC in 1997. Her character in the show was a Hungarian princess and the love interest and eventual wife of Ryan Lavery, played by Cameron Mathison.

Esta TerBlance was in the soap opera for four years until her character died in 2001 after she was killed by an assassin in case of mistaken identity. Her fictional husband in the ABC soap opera removes her from life support. She would later reprise her role as Princess Gillian just as the show wrapped up its four-decade run in 2011. She appeared as a ghost of the late princess for a single episode.

Esta TerBlanche talked about her return to the soap with Soap Opera Digest, published July 13, 2024.

"When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron [Mathison]. When we saw each other, we started bawling."

She added they hadn't seen each other for years before their reunion in the soap, which made the event a "touching moment" for them.

As for Mathison, who currently stars in General Hospital as Andrew Cain, he paid tribute to his later costar in his Instagram Stories on Sunday with a throwback picture of them during their fictional wedding in All My Children. He wrote "RIP my sweet princess" over the photo and also recalled how the late actress helped him last year when "Red was sick and paralyzed and I was struggling."