Actress Natalie Desselle-Reid dead at 53 from colon cancer

Actress Natalie Desselle-Reid died Monday morning from colon cancer, her family announced in an Instagram post. “It is with extremely heavy hearts that we share the loss of our beautiful Natalie this morning from colon cancer,” her family wrote. She was 53.

“She was a bright light in this world. A queen. An extraordinary mother and wife.”

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Desselle-Reid was known for her roles in “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “B*A*P*S,” and “Def Jam’s How to Be a Player.” She played Janie Egins for three seasons on the television show “Eve.”

“B*A*P*S” costar Halle Berry said she was “completely heartbroken” over the death of Desselle-Reid.

“Natalie taught us love, joy and humor through her characters — she could never dim her light, and it was infectious. With her I laughed harder than I’d ever laughed before,” Berry wrote in a tweet. “She showed us it was OK to be goofy and funny while still being sincere and extraordinarily kind.”

Other stars, including Bow Wow and Danielle Brooks, also paid tribute to Desselle-Reid on social media.

Desselle-Reid got her start in the 1996 film “Set It Off” and guest starred on “Family Matters” that same year. Her most recent role was in the 2017 series “Ya Killin’ Me.”

A GoFundMe has been set up in her honor. As of this writing, it has raised more than $1,300.