Esta TerBlanche, ‘All My Children’ Star, Dies at 51

Esta TerBlanche, who starred on the soap opera “All My Children,” died Thursday at her home in North Hollywood. She was 51. No cause of death has been given.

TerBlanche played Gillian Andrassy Lavery on the show from 1997 to 2001.

TerBlanche’s death was confirmed by her publicist Lisa Rodrigo on Facebook. She wrote, “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. 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 spoke to Soap Opera Digest about her role on “All My Children” on July 13. “The people I worked with were all so wonderful,” she said. “It was such a privilege to be on the show. Cameron [Mathison] was just phenomenal and I feel so blessed that I was able to work with him. He really made every day just wonderful. It was just magical. I could not have been luckier.”

Her character died in 2001, but was brought back as a ghost 10 years later and reunited with Mathison. “When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron. When we saw each other, we both started bawling,” she said. “Back then, we hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was such a touching moment for us.”

TerBlanche had limited experience in TV before she joined the show’s cast. As she told TV Celebs, she transitioned from shooting a half hour show in her home in South Africa to the hour-long program. Working in English was “awkward,” she added, and memorizing lines felt daunting. “And it’s not that you have a week to memorize them. You have a day, because you’re working the previous day, and you’re working every day,” she explained. “So, that was a big adjustment for me. Yeah, that was a big challenge for me, but I got through it. I did it.”

Esta TerBlanche was born on Jan. 7, 1973, in South Africa. She was crowned Miss Teen South Africa in 1991 and played Bienkie Naudé Hartman in the soap opera “Egoli: Piece of Gold” from 1992 to 1995. She was cast on “All My Children” two years later.

TerBlanche moved back to South Africa in 2001, where she opened a spa and hosted several television shows. She is survived by her goddaughter Barbie Ashley.