Prison Break star DuShon Monique Brown has died at age 49.

The Chicago native passed away on Friday (March 23) at St. James Olympia Field Hospital, a spokesperson for the Cook County medical examiner's office told the Chicago Tribune. A cause of death hasn't been determined.

A former high school guidance counsellor, Brown had her first recurring role as Sara Scofield's friend and Fox River confidant Katie Welch in Prison Break, having appeared in 13 episodes overall.

More recently, Brown has been a recurring player on Chicago Fire as Chief Boden's forthright assistant Connie throughout the NBC procedural's six-season run. She'd even appeared in this week's episode.

Among those paying tribute to DuShon Monique Brown is Dick Wolf, executive producer of Chicago Fire and the other interconnected procedurals in the Chicago universe.

Elizabeth Morris/NBC

(DuShon Brown with Chicago Fire co-starYuri Sardarov)

"The Chicago Fire family is devastated to lose one of its own," Wolf said in a statement late on Friday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with DuShon's family and we will all miss her."

DuShon Monique Brown was on UK TV screens this past Monday night (March 19) when she starred with Sarah Baker, Vera Farmiga and Mel Rodriguez in the Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams episode 'Kill All Others'.

The 49-year-old actress also had guest roles in Empire, Kelsey Grammer's political thriller Boss, the US version of Shameless and the recently-filmed TV project Public Housing Unit.

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Justin Harp Justin Harp is Digital Spy’s US-based Night News Editor covering all things entertainment on West Coast time.

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