The cause of death for soap opera actress Esta TerBlanche has been revealed six months after her untimely passing.
The actress died in July from an intracranial hemorrhage, the result of a blunt force head injury likely caused by a fall from a low height, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner said in a press release issued Wednesday. TMZ was first to report the news.
Also known as a “brain bleed,” an intracranial hemorrhage is a type of stroke that causes blood to pool between the brain and the skull, preventing oxygen from reaching the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
TerBlance, who rose to fame for her role as Gillian Andrassy on “All My Children” during the late ’90s and early 2000s, was found unresponsive at her home on July 19, 2024, and her death was pronounced by paramedics at 11:10 a.m. local time that day, per the medical examiner’s office.
The cause and manner of death were certified Wednesday following the completion of an examination on July 22 by a deputy medical examiner and the receipt of test and study results.
The manner of death was ruled as accident.
Medical personnel believed TerBlanche was dead for approximately a day before she was discovered, TMZ reported in July.
Her goddaughter said at the time that the star died “unexpectedly.”
Before making a name for herself in Hollywood, TerBlanche won the title of Miss Teen South Africa in 1991. Her big break came in 1997 when she was cast as the trouble-making Hungarian princess Gillian Andrassy on “All My Children.”
Her character was killed off in 2001, though TerBlanche briefly returned to the popular soap opera in 2011, playing Gillian’s ghost.
“All My Children” ended in 2013.
TerBlanche spoke about her return to the show in an interview with Soap Opera Digest published just one week before news of her death broke.
“When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron,” she said, referring to Cameron Mathison, who played Ryan Lavery on the daytime soap.
“When we saw each other, we both started bawling. Back then, we hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was such a touching moment for us.”
Though she left acting behind after her exit from “All My Children” and moved back to her native South Africa, she told Soap Opera Digest that she was spending more time in the US and wanted to return to her career in Hollywood.
“It’s definitely something I would like to get back into,” she revealed.
TerBlanche was married to André Kock from 1997 until 2008, when they divorced.
Her other acting credits included “Spin City,” “Egoli: Place of Gold” and “The Syndicate.”
TerBlanche is survived by her former husband, André Kock, and her goddaughter, Barbie Ashley.
She was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.