Vincent Irizarry mourns All My Children costar Esta TerBlanche, dead at 51

All My Children star Vincent Irizarry has paid tribute to his late costar Esta Terblanche, who has died at age 51.

The actor, who played Dr David Hayward on the show between 1997 and 2006, shared, "I'm absolutely shocked and saddened to have learned of the sudden passing of dear Esta TerBlanche.

"She was truly a kind, sweet soul, whom I will be forever grateful to have had the pleasure of knowing and working with during our years together on All My Children. She left us way, way too soon... RIP, dear, sweet Esta."

TerBlanche died unexpectedly at her home in North Hollywood, her goddaughter Barbie Ashley told TMZ.

Medical personnel report TerBlanche was dead for about a day before she was found.

Her rep, Lisa Rodrigo, told TMZ the star's death is under investigation.

TerBlanche rose to fame after she won Miss Teen South Africa in 1991. In 1997, she was cast in the role of Hungarian princess Gillian Andrassy in All My Children. Her character was killed off in 2001.

TerBlanche briefly reprised the role in 2011 as a ghost who appears to Cameron Mathison's Ryan Lavery. The show ended in 2013.

She stopped acting after leaving All My Children and moved back to South Africa but talked about her career hopes in an interview with Soap Opera Digest, published one week before the news of her death.

TerBlanche revealed she was spending more time in the US and was ready to return to her career in Hollywood.

"It's definitely something I would like to get back into," she said.