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Marise Wipani has passed away. According to a post on her Facebook page, the Hercules star passed away on June 6, her 61st birthday. The cause of death was not stated.
The actress, who was born in New Zealand, was "surrounded by family and friends" when she passed away, according to the post, which also included a quote from the 1989 movie Driving Miss Daisy.
The message said, "I have shuffled off this mortal coil." "Good God, good luck, and goodbye!"
Wipani first gained notoriety in 1983 when she competed in the Miss New Zealand pageant. Although she placed second, she later said she was relieved to lose to Lorraine Downes, who went on to win the Miss Universe title that year.
“It would have been my worst nightmare,” she said in a June 2011 interview with The New Zealand Herald. “I dodged a bullet... Seriously, it's just not my cup of tea.”
Wipani then went on to pursue a career in acting, first portraying a variety of roles on The Billy T. James Show. Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur, which led to a role in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Mark II were the next TV films she landed after making her feature film debut in Came a Hot Friday.
According to the Herald, Wipani took up a more subdued lifestyle by working at a nearby cafe after starring in Soldier Soldier and Shortland Street. She acknowledged that she regretted the way she handled her money early in her career, even though she still occasionally appeared in productions.
“I wish I was rich, and I wish I'd listened when people told me to save my money,” she said in the interview. “But I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ and then didn't do anything.”
Still, Wipani added, “It's been fun.”
