Oscar nominee mourns death of model wife: 'The saddest and toughest time of our lives'
Update at 3:30 p.m. PT: The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner office has ruled that Stefanie Sherk committed suicide by drowning. The coroner also listed her age as 43, not 37 as initially reported.
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Demian Bichir, who received a Best Actor nomination for 2011’s A Better Life, shared the news Wednesday that his wife, Canadian model and actress Stefanie Sherk, has died.
Bichir, 55, wrote that it was with “inconceivable pain” that he made the announcement that his “beloved and loving wife passed away peacefully” on Saturday. In his Instagram post, he called Sherk, whom he married in 2011, a “beautiful, angelical and talented presence” that will be “immensely missed.”
He did not specify the cause of death, but The Blast reports it’s being investigated as a possible suicide. Law enforcement sources told the website that Bichir found Sherk at the bottom of the pool at their Sherman Oaks, Calif., home on April 12 when he returned from the grocery store. She apparently weighed herself down to keep her body at the bottom of the pool, an investigator said.
Sherk was hospitalized for eight days before passing away.
In his post, Bichir asked for “peace and privacy in these incredibly difficult times.” He called it the “saddest and toughest time of our lives.”
The actor’s friends posted messages of support, including actress Diane Kruger, who wrote, “Oh Demian, I’m so sorry I had no idea. I’m sending you so much love in this difficult time.”
Bichir’s first wife, Mexican actress and singer Lisset, also commented. Loosely translated it said that she was sending him love from afar: “I love you with my soul. I'm so sorry.”
Bichir, who was in the hit Showtime series Weeds alongside Mary-Louise Parker, and Sherk started dating in 2010. A Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, native, she appeared in his 2016 directorial debut Un cuento de circo & a Love Song as well as the films Star Power, Valentine's Day and Loco Love. She also appeared in various TV shows including CSI: Cyber, #Hashtag: The Series and Telenovela.
The pair didn’t share any children, but he has a daughter, Gala, who was born in 2011.
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