Gerren Taylor, a model who starred in the late 2000s BET reality series “Baldwin Hills,” died Sunday at age 30.
“The entire BET family mourns the passing of one of our own, Ms. Ashley Gerren Taylor, beloved star of BET’s Baldwin Hills,” the network said in a statement on Monday. “The untimely passing of such a young, bright light is difficult to process. BET’s thoughts and prayers go out to Ashley’s friends and family during this time.”
The cause of death was not immediately known, though Essence reported that Taylor had previously been battling lupus.
An L.A. native whose given name was Ashley Taylor Gerren, she appeared in all three seasons of “Baldwin Hills” from 2007 to 2009, one of a group of Black teenagers from the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of the city. She also appeared in the 2007 documentary “America the Beautiful,” about the challenges of female body image in contemporary society.
Ray Cunningham, aka Misster Ray on VH1’s “Love and Hip-Hop,” tweeted praise for Taylor: “Just got the worst news. I hate it’s on the internet already. RIP to my @BET fam, my babes Gerren (Baldwin Hills).”
Nia Riley, a star of “Love and Hip-Hop Hollywood,” also sang Taylor’s praises. “My beautiful supermodel angel! My favorite picture of you 12 years ago you entered my life being nothing but one of my most solid friends ever!!” Riley wrote on Instagram. “I’m so heartbroken! I’ll never get over this, I don’t understand. I love you, I’m going to miss you even more!”
And Olympic sprinter Carol Rodriguez wrote, “Rest easy, sis.”