Kimberly Hébert Gregory, known for her performance as Dr. Belinda Brown in HBO’s Vice Principals, has died at 52.
Her death on Oct. 3 was confirmed by her ex-husband, actor Chester Gregory, who shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram.
Chester wrote: “Kimberly Hébert Gregory, You Were Brilliance Embodied, A Black Woman Whose Mind Lit Every Room, Whose Presence Carried Both Fire And Grace.”
No cause of death was reported. Kimberly and Chester shared a son.
In addition to her breakthrough role as Dr. Belinda Brown in the comedy series Vice Principals, Kimberly also voiced Nicole Williams in the animated sitcom “Craig of the Creek” on the Cartoon Network.
Tributes poured in from co-stars and colleagues on social media, including Walton Goggins and Busy Philipps from Vice Principals.
“We lost one of the best yesterday,” Goggins wrote on Instagram. “She made me laugh like no other. A professional’s professional. A gatdamn soprano that never missed a note.”
Philipps, who also appeared in the series as Gale Liptrapp, commented that she was “devastated” by the news. “She was a light and a force. She will be missed,” Philipps wrote.
Born in Houston in 1972, Gregory decided she’d pursue a career in acting when she was about 6 or 7 years old while watching the Academy Awards with her mother, she previously told PEOPLE, noting that she “knew at a very early age that I wanted to do something similar to what I saw being celebrated at the show.”
After appearing in plays in Chicago theater, Kimberly moved to Hollywood to pursue work in television.
Her television debut came in 2007 with “I Think I Love My Wife,” followed by appearances in “Gossip Girl,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Law & Order,” “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Shameless.”