Actress Vanessa Marquez was shot and killed by police in her South Pasadena, California apartment, writes The Hollywood Reporter. She was 49, and known for her portrayal of Wendy Goldman on ER from its 1994 debut through 1997,
Thursday afternoon, police were called by Marquez's landlord to do a welfare check on her; she may have had mental health concerns and an eating disorder, says TMZ. The San Gabriel Valley Tribunewrites that police had been to her house on at least one other similar occasion. On Thursday they reportedly found her having a seizure and called in support from a county mental health expert. "After about 90 minutes of trying to offer Marquez medical help, police said she armed herself with what appeared to be a handgun and police opened fire," CNN reports. It was determined afterward to be a BB gun. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Marquez made headlines last October when she accused George Clooney, who starred in ER, of being a part of a movement to blacklist her from the industry in the wake of racist comments and sexual misconduct allegations on set. Clooney later denied the allegations.
"I had no idea Vanessa was blacklisted," he said in a statement at the time. "I take her at her word. I was not a writer or a producer or a director on that show. I had nothing to do with casting. I was an actor and only an actor. If she was told I was involved in any decision about her career then she was lied to. The fact that I couldn’t affect her career is only surpassed by the fact that I wouldn’t."
In addition to starring in the first three seasons of ER, Marquez appeared in Malcolm & Eddie, the romance Fire & Ice, a drama called Stand and Deliver, and a comedy, Twenty Bucks.
