Vanessa Marquez, an actress best known for her recurring role as a nurse on the NBC drama “ER,” was shot and killed by police in South Pasadena, California on Thursday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
TV and Film Career
Marquez starred on ER for the first three seasons from 1994 to 1997.
Prior to ER, she acted in the 1988 drama Stand and Deliver as well as TV series Seinfeld (1992), Melrose Place (1994) and later Malcolm & Eddie (1999).
The actress also appeared on Intervention, which profiled “people whose uncontrollable addiction to drugs, alcohol or compulsive behavior has brought them to the brink of destruction and has devastated their family and friends,” according to A&E.
“Vanessa was once a successful actress before compulsive shopping drove her to bankruptcy and despair,” her episode is described as.
Health Battles
On her Twitter account, which has since be deactivated, Marquez wrote she was suffering from celiac, which is an immune disorder, according to Variety. She also said her diagnosis was “terminal” causing her to be “homebound” as she suffered from chronic pain.
In the introduction section on her Facebook account, Marquez describes herself as “LivingW/#Terminal #CeliacDisease #CVID #IVIG #Fibro #pulmonaryembolism #Osteoperosis #seizures Insta.”
While little is known about Marquez’s upbringing, she candidly referred to herself in a January 2017 Facebook post as a “Bastard unwanted neglected abused kid from East LA” and admitted, “I fear ive entered that Norma Desmond stage that some actors do. Watching their old stuff on tv.”