‘Black Panther’ Actress Dies at 72 After ‘Medical Procedure’

Connie Chiume, the South African actress who appeared in Black Panther , has died. She was 72.

She passed away Tuesday at the Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa , her family said in a statement on Instagram. No cause of death was given.

Her son, Nongelo Chiume, told Newzroom Afrika his mother had been admitted to the “hospital for a medical procedure.” “She was recovering well, but unfortunately we then got the news of her passing,” he said.

Connie Chiume was a trained teacher before becoming a household name as a television actress, according to the BBC , rising to prominence with her role as Thembi in the show Inkom’ Edla Yodwa in 1989.

She played Zawavari, a Mining Tribe Elder, in the 2018 Marvel film Black Panther . She also appeared in the 2022 sequel, Black Panther Wakanda Forever.

“I went to an audition not knowing what I was auditioning for,” she said of her experience being cast in Black Panther , according to TimesLIVE . “I went there and I was given a piece that I was supposed to do. I could see that this person is an African who was addressing the nation. I wore my African regalia, I learnt my lines. I did my best.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.