ABC Soap Opera Star Dies Unexpectedly: Esta TerBlanche Was 51

Esta TerBlanche, best known as Gillian Andrassy on All My Children , had died. According to TV Insider, her cause of death is under investigation and her body was discovered at her North Hollywood home. She was 51.

The actress' representative spoke with TMZ after the news broke, noting that the actress had been dead for at least a day before the discovery. TerBlanche's goddaughter, Barbie Ashley, noted that the actress died suddenly on July 18.

TerBlanche's acting career got its start after she won Miss Teen South Africa in 1991. Her role as Gillian, the Hungarian princess that thrives on drama, on All My Children started soon after in 1997. She stayed on the series until 2001 before leaving the cast to return to South Africa. She would return before the series finale, reprising her role in ghostly form in 2011.

"The people I worked with were all so wonderful," TerBlanche said in a chat with Soap Opera Digest from earlier in the month. "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.

"When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron," she added. "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."

After exiting the series, TerBlanche opened a spa, worked on documentary projects, was a TV host and devoted time to the Create Your Breakthrough cancer foundation. But in her final interview, she did make a desire to return to soap operas and acting clear. "It's definitely something I would like to get back into," she noted.