‘Triangle of Sadness’ Actress Charlbi Dean’s Cause of Death Revealed

Charlbi Dean’s cause of death has been revealed months after the Triangle of Sadness actress died.

Her rep previously told The Hollywood Reporter that Dean died in August at a New York City hospital following a sudden, unexpected illness. She was 32.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to THR that the performer and model died of bacterial sepsis. The sepsis was “complicating asplenia,” which is the absence of a spleen, due to “remote blunt force trauma to [her] torso,” according to the spokesperson. 

Dean’s death was ruled an accident. 

The medical examiner determined that her bacterial sepsis was caused after she was infected with a bacteria known as Capnocytophaga. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the bacteria is commonly found in the mouths of people, dogs and cats, but can cause an infection under certain conditions. At this point, it’s unclear what was responsible for Dean’s infection. 

The South African actress, who was born in Cape Town as Charlbi Dean Kriek, began modeling at 14 before making the transition to acting in 2010, when she starred in the film Spud. Her most recent work was Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is nominated for two Golden Globes.

“It is an honor to have gotten to know and work with her,” Östlund wrote on Instagram following her death. “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.”

Dean’s other film credits include Spud 2: The Madness Continues (2013), Blood in the Water (2016), Don’t Sleep (2017), An Interview With God (2018) and Porthole (2018). She also recurred on The CW’s Black Lightning.