Up-and-coming movie star Charlbi Dean was filmed sparring in a boxing lesson just three days before she died at the age of 32 from an ‘unexpected sudden illness.’
Dean had been taking boxing lessons with her personal trainer Gary Stark Jr. at the Gotham Gym in downtown Manhattan three times a week for the past month.
Her last lesson was on Friday, when Stark took a video of her throwing punches and dodging his attacks all while smiling and laughing.
She appeared to be in good physical health, as she wore a Calvin Klein sports bra, black Adidas sweat pants with her hair on top of her head in a messy bun.
‘She wasn’t sick,’ Stark told DailyMail.com. ‘She had tons of energy.’
He said she was then supposed to return to the gym for another lesson on Monday — the day she died unexpectedly at a New York City hospital, but she canceled at the last minute.
‘She never cancels, so I figured she was busy and I would just see her Wednesday,’ Stark said. He would only find out about Dean’s untimely death from the owner of the gym the next day.
‘I still can’t believe it, she had her life to live with her incredible fiancée Luke,’ Stark said, adding: ‘I’m hurting so much, I didn’t have the energy to go into work this morning.’
Just three days before she died, Charbi Dean, 32, was filmed sparring, dodging attacks and laughing as she sparred at a Manhattan gym
The up-and-coming actress seemed to be in good health, as she wore a Calvin Klein sports bra, black Adidas sweat pants with her hair on top of her head in a messy bun
Dean, whose last name is Kriek, had been training with Gary Stark Jr, left, three times a week for the past month. He told DailyMail.com how he considered her to be like a sister
Stark described Dean, whose last name is Kriek, as a ‘perfectionist’ whom he considered ‘my little sis, and her fiancée Luke [Volker] my little brother.’
They just met about four weeks ago, when the owner of Gotham Gym suggested Dean train with Stark because of her love of boxing, and they instantly ‘hit it off.’
Soon, Stark said, Dean even attended a professional boxing match at Barclays Center in Brooklyn because his ‘really good friend, boxer Abner Mares, a three-time world champion’ gave her tickets ’cause she loved it so much.
‘She did awesome in every class,’ Stark recalled. ‘She was just awesome and was so down to Earth.’
Dean died from an ‘unexpected sudden illness’ at a New York City hospital on Monday after apparently cancelling her sparring lesson with Stark Jr. She is pictured here at the Cannes Film Festival in May
Dean had been set to marry her fiancée Luke Chase Volker prior to her sudden death on Monday
Dean is also survived by her parents, Johan and Joanne Kriek, as well as her brother Alexi Jacobs Kriek (not pictured)
Dean was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, where she lived with her parents, Johan and Joanne Kriek, as well as her brother Alexi Jacobs Kriek.
She began modeling at a young age, making frequent appearances on fashion runways and magazine covers in the decades that followed.
Dean then went on to make her acting debut in the 2010 film Spud, an adaptation of a popular South African novel about a boys’ boarding school starring Troye Sivan and John Cleese, and reprised her role in the sequel three years later.
In 2018, Dean made her small-screen debut in The CW’s Black Lightning in 2018, in which she played an assassin named Syonide.
Among Charlbi’s many friends was Cuban actress Ana de Armas (L, pictured in 2017), who’s famous for her ex-boyfriend Ben Affleck as well as her upcoming role as Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s Blonde
Audiences might be familiar with the up-and-coming actress for her roles in The CW’s Black Lightning in 2018 (pictured)
But her death came just weeks before the release of the Oscar-tipped satirical comedy Triangle of Sadness, which was set to make her a star.
She portrays fashion model and influencer Yaya in the film opposite Harris Dickinson, who plays a model named Carl. The two are invited onto a superyacht for a luxury vacation, when the ship sinks and leaves the uber-wealthy on a deserted island.
The film received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and won the coveted Palme d’Or.
It is now an official selection in the Toronto Film Festival, and was selected to premier at the 2022 New York Film Festival as well. It hits US theaters on October 7 and UK theaters October 28.
Dean portrays fashion model and influencer Yaya in the upcoming, critically-acclaimed comedy Triangle of Sadness
The film, which hits US theaters on October 7 and UK theaters October 28, was set to make Dean a star
On May 21, the homeschooled millennial reunited with her castmates at the world premiere of the film.
‘Congratulations our family we did it!’ Charlbi gushed on May 29.
‘@ruben_ostlund you’re the GOAT I’m forever thankful for you for trusting me to be apart of your genius and my dear @sinaostlund. Can’t believe I had the best year making this during one of the hardest times in my life.’
She also told The Associated Press at the Cannes Festival: ‘For me, I’m like, I’ve already won. I’m already at Cannes with the movie. That’s so unbelievable. Anything is just a cherry on top at this point for me, you know?’
On May 21, the homeschooled millennial reunited with her castmates at the world premiere, which received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and won the coveted Palme d’Or
Dean got engaged to Volker four months ago on the same Manhattan street as their first kiss (pictured)
Dean got engaged to her boyfriend of four years, Luke Chase Volker, four months ago on the same Manhattan street as their first kiss.
She is also survived by her parents, Johan and Joanne Kriek, as well as her brother Alexi Jacobs Kriek.
Following her sudden death on Monday, Alexi posted a poem he had written in his sister’s memory.
He wrote that he did not know who the poem would be about when he first put the words to paper but ‘life has answered my question in the most cruel way.’
Their mother, Joanne Muller, also posted a tribute to her daughter saying: ‘Our beautiful breath, will never breathe again. We love you forever and always.’
And on Wednesday, Ruben Östlund, the Swedish film producer behind Triangle of Sadness took to Instagram to call say: ‘Charlbi’s sudden passing is a shock and a tragedy.
‘It is an honor to have gotten to know and work with her,’ he wrote, noting: ‘Charlbi had a care and sensitivity that lifted her colleagues and the entire film crew. The thought that she will not be by our side in the future makes me very sad.
‘At this difficult time, my thoughts go out to her loved ones, her family and her fiancé Luke.’
On Wednesday, Ruben Östlund, the Swedish film producer behind Triangle of Sadness took to Instagram to call say: ‘Charlbi’s sudden passing is a shock and a tragedy’
Dean’s mother, Joanne Muller, also posted a tribute to her daughter saying: ‘Our beautiful breath, will never breathe again. We love you forever and always’
Her brother, Alexi, had written a poem, unaware about who it would be about, but ‘life has answered my question in the most cruel way’ as he posted it on Instagram in his sister’s memory on Tuesday
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