Dorothy Steel, who played a tribal elder in the film Black Panther, died at the age of 95.
Steel died on Friday morning at her Detroit home, according to her agent, Cindy Butler of iSubmit Talent. There was no mention of a cause of death.
Steel was in the middle of filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 superhero picture, which began production in Atlanta this June, when she died, Butler adds, and was transported back to Detroit to be with her family.
Steel’s publicist informed WSB-TV, which broke the news of her death, that the actress had previously stated that her participation in the Marvel sequel would be her “final role.”
“She went out with a bang,” stated the spokesman.
Steel made her feature film debut in Black Panther as an elder of the Merchant Tribe.
Steel admitted during a 2018 interview on Steve Harvey that she was initially apprehensive to engage in a “comic strip at my age,” but that her grandson persuaded her to apply for the position.
Steel informed presenter Steve Harvey that she sat down at the computer every day and “practiced” Nelson Mandela’s speech patterns to get the proper tone, inspired by her grandson. After putting in her audition tape, the actress said she received a response from the Black Panther production team an hour later.
“It makes me feel really good to be a part of something… Black,” Steel said of the event, adding, “Wakanda forever.”
Daisy Winters, Poms, and Jumanji: The Next Level are among Steel’s other film credits. She appeared on television series including Bounce TV’s Saints & Sinners and BET’s The Oval while she wasn’t on the big screen.
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