Mira Furlan, best known for her roles as Minbari Ambassador Delenn on Babylon 5 and Danielle Rousseau on Lost, has died at the age of 65.
Furlan died of undisclosed causes on Wednesday. Her death was confirmed the following evening on Twitter. Shortly thereafter, Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski shared a touching tribute.
“It is a night of great sadness, for our friend and comrade had gone down the road where we cannot reach her,” Straczynski wrote. “But as with all things, we will catch up with her in time, and I believe she will have many stories to tell us, and many new roles to share with the universe.”
The eulogy continues, reading in part: “Mira was a good and kind woman, a stunning, talented performer, and a friend to everyone in the cast and crew of Babylon 5, and we are all devastated by the news. The cast members with whom she was especially close since the show’s end will need room to process this moment, so please be gentle if they are unresponsive for a time. We have been down this road too often, and it only gets harder.”
A native of the former Yugoslavia, Furlan emigrated to the United States in 1991, just one year before she landed her star-making role as Delenn on Babylon 5. But she was already an accomplished actress at that point, having worked in theater, film and television back in her native country. In 1985, she played Ankica Vidmar in the film When Father Was Away on Business, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Six years after Babylon 5, Furlan made her debut as scientist Danielle Rousseau on ABC’s Lost, and went on to appear in 20 episodes across six seasons. Additional TV credits included episodes of NCIS, Law & Order: Los Angeles and Just Add Magic.
Furlan is survived by her husband, director Goran Gajić, and their son, Marko.
All five seasons of Babylon 5 are headed to HBO Max on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Scroll down to read Straczynski’s tribute in full.
It is a night of great sadness, for our friend and comrade had gone down the road where we cannot reach her. But as with all things, we will catch up with her in time, and I believe she will have many stories to tell us, and many new roles to share with the universe. pic.twitter.com/HyQlqyC19v
— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) January 22, 2021