Former ER actress Vanessa Marquez, born December 21, 1968, has been shot dead by South Pasadena police at the age of 49-years-old.

According to reports, police in South Pasadena, California, were performing a welfare check on Marquez when she allegedly “threatened them with a realistic-looking BB gun”, causing them to fatally shoot her.

The incident began just before 2 p.m. local time on Thursday, August 30, after South Pasadena police responded to a home in the 1100 block of Fremont Avenue after getting a call about a 49-year-old woman suffering from seizures.

Sheriff’s Homicide Lt. Joe Mendoza said Marquez “had eating disorders and appeared to be gravely disabled.” Additional, he said that police found a BB-gun that resembled a semi-automatic handgun.

via South Pasadenan:

Marquez was shot at least once in the torso and treated briefly at the home on the 1100 block of Fremont Avenue and rushed to a local hospital, according to police who did not confirm Marquez’ identity, as they were in the process of contacting next of kin. Police say she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Lt. Joe Mendoza, of the L.A. Sheriff’s homicide bureau, described the incident to reporters during a 5 p.m. press conference, saying officers were called to the scene by a landlord who reported that the woman was in some kind of trouble. Police said they had been called to the woman’s residence in the past for help.

“At the time [of the shooting] there was an LA County mental health clinician here with the officers,” Mendoza said. “They began to communicate with her, she became very uncooperative and during that contact she armed herself with a handgun, she pointed it at the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred.”



The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating the incident, which is the common procedure for any officer-involved shooting.

Her death comes one year after accusing George Clooney of blacklisting her from Hollywood after she made harassment allegations. In 2017, Marquez publicly accused the Oscar-winning actor and director of helping “blacklist” her after she spoke out about alleged harassment on the set of ER.

At the time, Clooney released an official statement denying the accusations, saying:

“I had nothing to do with 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.”

On August 8, Marquez posted what would be her final Facebook status update, accusing Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, of hypocrisy. Marquez questioned why Dorsey previously kicked her off Twitter for “naming his friend George Clooney at the beginning of the #Metoo movement in October” but allows controversial InfoWars host Alex Jones to remain on the social media platform.

She was open about her health issues on social media, publicly stating that she has terminal celiac disease, pulmonary embolism, osteoporosis, and seizures.

Marquez was an American actress who was best known for playing Nurse Wendy Goldman, a recurring character on the early seasons of the NBC hit ER.

On ER, Nure Wendy Goldman was a recurring character who debuted in the series pilot “24 Hours”. In the show, Goldman is a nursing assistant in the County General ER. Her final appearance came in the season three episode “Calling Dr. Hathaway”.

In addition to ER, Marquez appeared in the 1992 episode Seinfeld “The Cheever Letters” and in three episodes of the Bryan Cranston starring sitcom Malcolm in the Middle in 1999.

The Daily Mail reported that Marquez was a long-time member of TCM Party – a group of “cinephiles passionate about classic movies.”



via The Daily Mail:

Other members of the group paid tribute to Marquez on Twitter Friday:

“I am devastated to say that Vanessa Marquez @R2DivaLA was shot and killed by the South Pasadena police on Thursday afternoon. I met her through #TCMParty, I hope she knew how much we loved her and I hope too that she is at peace,” ‘ @TCMParty tweeted.

According to her IMDB acting page, Marquez had 23 professional credits to her name. Her first acting credit came in the 1988 film Stand And Deliver. Stand And Deliver was nominated for one Academy Award, with Edward James Olmos nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Her most recent and final acting credit came in 2017 when she appeared in the short film The Problem with Evolution.

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