{"id":14304,"date":"2026-04-10T10:06:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=14304"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:06:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T10:06:50","slug":"with-heavy-hearts-we-announce-the-passing-of-this-beloved-actress-who-gave-us-so-much-check-the-first-comment-%f0%9f%91%87%f0%9f%92%94","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=14304","title":{"rendered":"With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of this beloved actress who gave us so much. Check the first comment \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc94"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dee Freeman, a seasoned actress, writer, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran best known for her roles on\u00a0Sistas<\/em>\u00a0andYoung And The Restless, has died at the age of 66.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Freeman passed away peacefully on April 2, 2026, following a battle with stage 4 lung cancer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Her family confirmed in a heartfelt Instagram post shared the following day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Appeared in Seinfeld and Dexter<\/h2>\n

Born June 6, 1959, in Louisiana, Freeman\u2019s journey to Hollywood was anything but ordinary. After high school, she joined the U.S. Marine Corps \u2014 a decision she once said began \u201con a dare,\u201d but ultimately became a cornerstone of her identity.<\/p>\n

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She served six years, crediting the experience with shaping her discipline, resilience, and sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

After her military service, Freeman turned to the arts, building an impressive career on stage with more than 80 theater productions. Known for her emotional depth and commanding presence, she later transitioned to television and film, where she spent over two decades working steadily in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

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BURBANK, CALIFORNIA \u2013 APRIL 03: Actress Dee Freeman attends the 10th Annual Indie Series Awards at The Colony Theater on April 03, 2019 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Paul Archuleta\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Freeman appeared in a wide range of popular shows, including\u00a0Seinfeld<\/em>,\u00a0ER<\/em>,\u00a0The X-Files<\/em>,\u00a0Dexter<\/em>,\u00a0Shameless<\/em>, and\u00a0NCIS: Los Angeles<\/em>. She also had roles on\u00a0The Young and the Restless<\/em>\u00a0and led the satirical web series\u00a0Pretty<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In recent years, she gained renewed recognition for her portrayal of Valerie Barnes on BET\u2019s\u00a0Sistas<\/em>, appearing in Seasons 9 and 10. She had been invited to return for Season 11.<\/p>\n

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\u201dIt blew her away to know\u2026\u201d<\/h2>\n

At the time of her passing, Freeman was still creating. She had been working on adapting her one-woman stage show,\u00a0Poison Gun<\/em>, into a novel inspired by her family\u2019s history \u2014 a reflection of her continued commitment to storytelling.<\/p>\n

Publicist Desirae L. Benson paid tribute to Freeman\u2019s character and strength in a statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cDee wasn\u2019t just my client\u2014she was someone I truly respected and admired. She carried herself with a level of grace, strength, and authenticity that is rare. Even in the face of stage 4 lung cancer, she showed up with courage and dignity. Dee had a quiet power that commanded respect without ever needing to demand it. Her legacy is not just in her work, but in how she made people feel\u2014and that will stay with us forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to her family, she died after a period-long battle with lung cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201dDee passed away peacefully on April 2, after a brave and fearless fight with cancer,\u201d their statement read. \u201cThank you to everyone who supported Dee during her battle. It blew her away to know how many people cared about her and were pulling for her. We know Dee is up there in heaven, being the force of nature she always was. Now she\u2019s doing it with her angel wings on. Rest in peace, Dee.\u201d<\/p>\n

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BURBANK, CA \u2013 APRIL 04: Actress Dee Freeman attends the 9th Annual Indie Series Awards at The Colony Theatre on April 4, 2018 in Burbank, California. (Photo by David Livingston\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond her career, Freeman was a devoted mother to her two children, Amber and Shane, whom she often described as her greatest accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Even in her final days, she remained true to her spirit. Her son Shane recalled that when asked how she was doing, she simply replied, \u201cCan\u2019t complain. On the other side doesn\u2019t do you any good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freeman lived life on her own terms, once saying acting was her greatest passion \u2014 and she carried that passion with her until the very end.<\/p>\n

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She is survived by her children, Amber and Shane.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dee Freeman, a seasoned actress, writer, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran best known for her roles on\u00a0Sistas\u00a0andYoung And The Restless, has died at the age of 66…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14306,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14304\/revisions\/14306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}