Television actress Denise Dowse died at age 64 after battling viral meningitis, the family said Saturday.
Tributes poured in for the “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Insecure” actor after her death was announced by her sister Tracey on Instagram.
“I want to take this moment to thank our friends and family for all the love and prayers,” she wrote. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform everyone that my sister, Denise Dowse, has gone ahead to meet our family in eternal life,” wrote Tracey.
“Denise Yvonne Dowse was the most wonderful sister, an accomplished, illustrious actress, mentor and director. She was my best friend and last family member. Denise loved you all. I know she watches over us with all the love she has.”
Her passing was initially reported by TV Line.
Dowse was in a coma for at least a week after she developed inflammation in the protective membranes surrounding her brain and spinal cord.
Ian Ziering, who played student of Dowse’s West Beverly Hills High vice principal Yvonne Teasley on ‘90210’, remembered her as a great actor and ‘loving soul’.
“It is so heartbreaking to say that Denise Dowse has passed away. everywhere
my years working on Beverly Hills 90210, my scenes with Denise will always remain [sic] to be
remembered with the utmost respect for her talent, and affection for the loving soul
she was.
“Some of my heartiest off-camera laughs were between her and I doing the… [sic] discipline that Mrs. Teasley would hand out my Steve Sanders. My sincere condolences to her family and all others dear to her. God bless you Denise, prepay that Legacy Key A,” he wrote on Instagram.
Dowse was frequently seen on network TV throughout the 90s, with credits on shows like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The X-Files,” “Criminal Minds,” “Bones,” “House,” “Monk,” “Law & Order, ‘Gilmore Girls’, ‘Charmed’, ‘The Bernie Mac Show’, ‘Nip/Tuck’, ‘Moesha’, ‘Sister, Sister’, ‘ER’, ‘Step by Step’, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer ‘, “Seinfeld” and “Full House” – among others.
Tracey told Page Six that her sister was most proud of “Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story,” a picture she recently directed that premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in April 2022.
“She has won several awards for best director at this year’s film festivals,” said Tracey.
