Veteran actress Armelia McQueen has died at the age of 68, Variety reported. Her cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
“You are truly an angel now,” McQueen’s friend Dorian Hannaway wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “My dear friend Armelia crossed over yesterday. She leaves us cherishing her memory as she was one of the greatest friends you could ever have. The only thing bigger than her beautiful soul was her extraordinary talent. She gave us such joy in her many turns on the Broadway stage as well as her film and TV roles.”
“I will remember her as my girlfriend whose dazzling smile and crazy sense of humor gave me so much joy,” she continued. “All of us who are lucky enough to call her our friend will be sustained by the many memories of the fun we all had together.”
McQueen, who died on Saturday, Oct. 3, was born Jan. 6, 1952 in Southern Pines, N.C. and raised in New York City.
Deadline provided a summary of McQueen’s many credits:
On film, McQueen had roles in 1976’s Sparkle and several others before appearing as Clara Brown, sister of Goldberg’s Oda Mae Brown, in the hit movie Ghost. Subsequent film roles included 1998’s Bulworth and 1999’s Life.
McQueen had her most prolific career in television, starring as the Red Queen in Disney Channel’s 1990s series Adventures in Wonderland, and making appearances in Martin, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, All About the Andersons, That’s So Raven, JAG and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She played the recurring role of Shula Whitaker in The CW’s 2011-15 series Hart of Dixie.
In addition to her film and TV series, McQueen starred in the 1978 Broadway musical production of Ain’t Misbehavin’.
Upon hearing the tragic news, many took to Twitter to honor the beloved and talented actress.
Rest in power, Armelia McQueen.