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Black Panther actress Dorothy Steel passed away Friday morning at her family home in Detroit. She was 95. The cause of death is not known.
At the time of her death, Steel was filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2018 Marvel superhero film.
Her agent Cindy Butler took to Facebook to share the heartbreaking news. It read:
“Thank you Ms. Dorothy for giving me the opportunity to ride this wave with you. Thank you for all the casting directors who hired Ms. Dorothy. Thank you to the world for loving on her from afar. I received calls from all over the world wanting to interview or do a biopic of her life. She was very selective.”
The statement also read:
“Per Ms. Dorothy, she told me to tell everyone that arrangements and flowers where to send will be posted via Facebook. She was still telling me what to do. That was my Ms.Dorothy………….WAKANDAFOREVER.”
Who did Dorothy Steel play in the Black Panther movie?
The late actress played the role of a merchant tribe elder in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. In an interview with Steve Harvey, Dorothy Steel shared her initial hesitation about joining the powerful cast. Reportedly, she had told her agent:
“There is no way I’m going to be in no comic strip at my age.”
While referring to her agent during her interview, she added:
“She was very persistent. I really have to give her credit, because she said, ‘Ms. Dorothy, you can do this.'”
Following her role in Black Panther, Steel played her recurring role as Mother Harris on Saints & Sinners. She also starred in the movie Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses. Her appearance on BET’s The Oval was highly regarded as well.
The actress did not pursue a career in acting until she was 88 years old. During the early stages of her career, she played in TV series The Trouble With Going Somewhere, Baby and the film Daisy Winters.
Many fans of Dorothy Steel took to Twitter to pay tribute to the late actress.
The last time Dorothy Steel was seen on screen was in Jumanji: The Next Level. According to WSB-TV, she had told her agent that Black Panther 2 would be her “last role.”
