Forest Whitaker’s Ex-Wife, Actress Keisha Nash, Has Died at 51

Forest Whitaker
SANTA MONICA, CA – MARCH 01: Forest Whitaker and Keisha Nash Whitaker attend the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards at Santa Monica Beach on March 1, 2014 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Actress Keisha Nash, who was married to Forest Whitaker from 1996 until their divorce in 2018, has died. She was 51.

Whitaker and Nash’s daughter, True Whitaker, confirmed her mother’s death in an Instagram Story, shared Thursday (Dec 7). A cause of death was not immediately provided.

“goodbye mommy. I love you 4ever and beyond,” True, 25, wrote in a caption over a black-and-white photo of her mother. “the most beautiful woman in the world… thank you for teaching me every single thing I know. I’ll see you in my dreams and I’ll feel you in my heart.”

true whitaker

True also shared a photo of her mother with lyrics from soul singer Donny Hathaway’s song “A Song For You” playing over the picture.

Whitaker and Nash met on the set of Blown Away in 1994. In a 2020 interview with Essence, Nash said she’d seen Whitaker’s performance in A Rage in Harlem in 1991, before the two had met. “Right away, I thought Forest had a gentle soul and a nice spirit,” she said.

The couple married in Jamaica in 1996. Whitaker filed for divorce in 2018 citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to multiple media reports. The couple shared two daughters, Sonnet, 25, and True, 25.