Before her reported death at the age of 49, ER actress Vanessa Marquez‘s life was filled with highs and lows.
Marquez, who appeared for three seasons on the long-running medical drama as Nurse Wendy Goldman, was reportedly identified as the 49-year-old woman authorities say was shot and killed by police in South Pasadena, California, on Thursday afternoon.
Marquez’s name and age were confirmed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department — who is leading the investigation of the officer-involved shooting — but a spokesman tells PEOPLE he could not confirm it was the actress who appeared in ER, Melrose Place, Stand and Deliver and other film and TV projects.
According to the L.A. Times, the Hollywood Reporter and other news outlets, it was the same Marquez.
The actress was reportedly killed following a welfare check at an apartment complex for someone “who was possibly suffering from a medical condition,” according to sheriff’s officials.
Police claim the woman then “became uncooperative” and “appeared to be unable to care for herself.”
The woman was shot around 1:48 p.m. after she allegedly “armed herself” with a BB gun and pointed it at the officers, according to sheriff’s officials, reported by South Pasadenan. She was pronounced dead at 2:36 p.m. at an area hospital, according to the sheriff’s department and a coroner’s spokeswoman.
Here’s a look back at Marquez’s life before her death.
TV and Film Career
Marquez starred on ER for the first three seasons from 1994 to 1997.
Prior to ER, she acted in the 1988 drama Stand and Deliver as well as TV series Seinfeld (1992), Melrose Place (1994) and later Malcolm & Eddie (1999).
The actress also appeared on Intervention, which profiled “people whose uncontrollable addiction to drugs, alcohol or compulsive behavior has brought them to the brink of destruction and has devastated their family and friends,” according to A&E.
“Vanessa was once a successful actress before compulsive shopping drove her to bankruptcy and despair,” her episode is described as.
Health Battles
On her Twitter account, which has since be deactivated, Marquez wrote she was suffering from celiac, which is an immune disorder, according to Variety. She also said her diagnosis was “terminal” causing her to be “homebound” as she suffered from chronic pain.
In the introduction section on her Facebook account, Marquez describes herself as “LivingW/#Terminal #CeliacDisease #CVID #IVIG #Fibro #pulmonaryembolism #Osteoperosis #seizures Insta.”
While little is known about Marquez’s upbringing, she candidly referred to herself in a January 2017 Facebook post as a “Bastard unwanted neglected abused kid from East LA” and admitted, “I fear ive entered that Norma Desmond stage that some actors do. Watching their old stuff on tv.”
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“Blacklisted” from Hollywood
In October of last year, Marquez alleged that her former ER costar George Clooney contributed to her being “blacklisted” after she accused her male costars, including Eriq La Salle, of sexual misconduct, according to a Facebook post.
“I was harrassed daily on the set of ER. Sexual and racial. Daily attacks on my mexican heritage and yes, my p—- was grabbed on set in front of the male driven cast and crew and everyone laughed while I cried in pain in front of a young female PA witness to it. Eriq LaSalle was the p—- grabber. All the other ‘stars’ were the racial joksters. When the PA asked LaSalle to apologize he said Oh but I thought you liked it,” she wrote.
La Salle did not respond to PEOPLE’s request to comment.
In a since-deleted tweet, Marquez wrote, “Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up abt harassment on ER. ‘Women who don’t play the game lose career’ I did,” according to Page Six.
Clooney, 57, denied the claims saying he was unaware of the incident. “I had no idea Vanessa was blacklisted,” Clooney began in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
“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 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,” Clooney added.
from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/2C1T4i6
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