Esta TerBlanche's cause of death has finally been revealed -- 6 months after her passing.
News of the actress' death broke over the summer.
Perhaps best known for her roles as Gillian Andrassy on the iconic soap All My Children, TerBlanche was found unresponsive in her Los Angeles-area home on July 18, per the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.
At the time TerBlanche's publicist - Lisa Rodrigo - confirmed the heartbreaking news on Facebook, writing: “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."
Now, the results of the autopsy have been revealed, with a spokesperson from the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner informing TMZ TerBlanche died from an intracranial hemorrhage.
This fatal brain bleed is believed to have been caused by a blunt-force traumatic head injury, most likely from "a ground-level fall", per the outlet.
TerBlanche was born on January 7, 1973, in Rustenburg, a city in the North West province of South Africa.
In her early career, she hosted children's television shows and was even crowned Miss Teen South Africa in 1991.
A few years later, TerBlanche found fame playing the troublesome Hungarian princess Gillian on the soap opera from 1997 to 2001. Her storyline with Cameron Mathison’s Ryan Lavery was extremely popular with viewers.
The star's appearance on the series ended when Lavery removed Gillian from life support after an assassin shot her in a case of mistaken identity.
She returned as Gillian’s ghost for one episode in 2011, as the TV drama concluded its four-decade run on ABC.
“When I came back, it was really emotional for me and Cameron. When we saw each other, we both started bawling,” TerBlanche told Soap Opera Digest in an interview published on July 13. “Back then, we hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was such a touching moment for us.”
The actress returned to South Africa after completing her run on All My Children and opened a spa. She also worked with filmmaker Michael Kastenbaum on documentaries and hosted television shows like Supermodel and Carte Blanche.
Other credits also include Spin City, Egoli: Place of Gold, and The Syndicate.
TerBlanche's costar Mathison paid tribute to his late co-star on his Instagram Story, writing that the late actress helped him last year when his dog was "sick and paralyzed," before calling her "one of the sweetest people ever."
Fans also took to social media to pay their respects to the late actress at the time of her passing.
"Rest in Peace Esta TerBlanche. Thank you for entertaining us with your beautiful and captivating performance. We will miss you, Princess," one user wrote.
"R. I. P. Esta TerBlanche, may flights of angels sing you to your rest. Never had the fortune to meet Esta, but from everything anyone who has they say she was the genuine charm you saw on screen; maybe that's why we loved her so much on All My Children wanting to see her again," a second shared.
A third added: "Our thoughts & prayers go out to Esta TerBlanche's family, friends, & colleagues. RIP Esta."
Once again, our thoughts are with the actress' family and friends at this time.