Reality TV star found dead in her home at the age of 43 as family say 'she will continue to shine'
A reality TV star has been found dead in her home at the age of 43.
Francine Beppu, star of The Real L Word, died at her home earlier this month.
The television personality was found dead last Tuesday ( February 17), at her home in Honolulu, Hawaii, a spokesperson for her family confirmed in a statement.
Her official cause of death has not yet been revealed.
In a statement shared yesterday (Monday February 23) and reported by TMZ, Beppu's family thanked her friends and colleagues for their support. In it, they said they were “deeply grateful to know how cherished she was and how brightly she will continue to shine.”
The star’s family then requested privacy during their difficult time and said they will be announcing plans for a celebration of life to honour her at a later date.
Beppu is best known for starring on reality show The Real L Word, which ran for three seasons, from June 2010 until September 2012. She was aged 28 when she joined the show.
The reality series followed the lives and romantic relationships of lesbians who were living in Los Angeles and New York City. Beppu was initially on the show with her now ex-girlfriend, Claire Campbell Moseley, who joined the show for the second season when she moved to Los Angeles with Beppu.
During the second season, Beppu's major storylines focused on her relationship with her mother and her difficult relationship with Moseley. Beppu left the show at the end of the second season.
According to her Instagram profile, she founded a public benefit corporation and golf club called Badliars Collective. Her last social media posts were in late December when she said she had 'big announcements dropping soon' for her brand.
Beppu previously opened up about how her coming out story airing on television inspired other “Asian closeted lesbians”.
“I didn't realise my coming out story would have such an impact on other people in the way that it did,' she added in a video interview with Sa'Ke Film Group for National Coming Out Day in November 2022.
Beppu went on to say it was “stressful” for me to come out to her family at the age of 28 on camera.
“I think that by having more of these conversations, it really shows a sense of community,” she said. “We're all here for each other. We all support each other. At the end of the day, you have to live for your own happiness. The people around you, who still love you, will want you to be happy.”
Beppu went on: “At the end of the day, we're all human. We go through the same emotions. One difference: when you're LGBTQ, you have to ‘come out’, and I don't think a lot of people know how difficult that is. So it's about continuing to have these stories be told, to help us all better understand and be there for each other.”