Marise Wipani has passed away.
The Hercules star died June 6, which marked her 61st birthday, according to a post on her Facebook page. No cause of death was given.
The post noted that the New Zealand-born actress was “surrounded by family and friends” at the time of her passing, and included a message in which she quoted the 1989 film Driving Miss Daisy.
“I have shuffled off this mortal coil,” the message read. “Good byyye, good luuuck, good God!!!”
Wipani first entered the spotlight as a contestant in the Miss New Zealand pageant in 1983, and while she ultimately finished as the runner-up, she later expressed relief to have been defeated by Lorraine Downes, who went on to win that year’s Miss Universe competition.
“It would have been my worst nightmare,” she said in a June 2011 interview with The New Zealand Herald. “I dodged a bullet… Seriously, it’s just not my cup of tea.”
From there, Wipani pursued an acting career, initially playing various characters on The Billy T. James Show. After making her feature film debut in Came a Hot Friday, she landed subsequent roles in the TV movies Mark II and Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur, the latter of which led to a role in the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
After taking on other small screen roles in Soldier Soldier and Shortland Street, Wipani adopted a quieter lifestyle as she worked at a local cafe, per the Herald. While she continued to appear in occasional productions, she admitted to regretting how she managed her finances earlier in her career.
“I wish I was rich and I wish I’d listened when people told me to save my money,” she said in the interview. “But I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’ and then didn’t do anything.”
Still, Wipani added, “It’s been fun.”
