The manner and cause of death for actress Esta TerBlanche, best known for her role as Gillian Andrassy on the soap opera “All My Children,” has been determined, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner announced on Wednesday, January 29.
TerBlanche, who was 51 at the time, was found unresponsive at her home on July 19, 2024. Paramedics pronounced her death at 11:00 a.m. local time, the examiner’s office noted. On July 22, 2024, an examination was performed by a deputy medical examiner.
Following the receipt of test and study results, the medical examiner’s office officially certified the cause and manner of death, revealing TerBlanche died from an intracranial hemorrhage due to blunt force traumatic head injury likely due to a ground level fall. The manner of death was ruled an accident.
“Esta was such a kind, loving, giving, and caring person,” said her manager, Annie Spoliansky, in a statement at the time. “She cared so deeply for all people and animals. She had squirrels she fed and looked after daily, her two cats, and recent kittens that she cared for as her own children. Esta was never anything but generous and lovely to me, and I’m grateful to have known her for the time that I did, and devastated to learn of her passing.”
Born in Rustenburg, South Africa on January 7, 1973, TerBlanche first made a name for herself when she was crowned Miss Teen South Africa in 1991. Soon after she landed the role of Bienkie Naudé Hartman in the South African soap opera “Egoli: Place of Gold,” where she appeared from 1992-1995.
After much success in her home country, TerBlanche relocated to the United States to further her acting career. Landing multiple gigs as a model in commercials and ad campaigns, TerBlanche made her network television debut in 1997 on “All My Children,” where she quickly built a fan following and a hot romance playing opposite Cameron Mathison’s Ryan Lavery [Mathison currently appears as Drew Quartermaine on “General Hospital”].
TerBlanche exited “All My Children” in 2001 with her character dying from a gunshot wound. Later, Gillian’s heart was donated to Laura, Brooke English’s (Julia Barr) adopted daughter. By 2011, TerBlanche would reprise her role for a handful of episodes following the soap’s cancellation. She was among 17 former cast members reprising their roles.
Talking about her time on the ABC soap opera in a Soap Opera Digest interview published just a few days before her death last year, TerBlanche said, “It was such a privilege to be on the show. Cameron 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.”