A Beautiful Soul Is Gone

Loved ones of 7de Laan’s Bronwyn van Graan are devastated by the pregnant actress’ shock death

- Colin Hendricks

SHE was a successful actress, happily married to the man she loved and eager to fulfil her biggest dream – to become a mom.

But the new life she so longed for ended up costing Bronwyn van Graan her own life, leaving her husband and parents stunned and heartbroken.

Bronwyn, who’d had a miscarriage two years ago, had an ectopic pregnancy (see box) – and the bubbly 39-year-old died alone on the floor of her Johannesburg flat recently after suffering catastrophic internal bleeding.

The death of the actress, who played a social worker on 7de Laan, has shattered her former colleagues on the soapie.

Vinette Ebrahim, who plays Charmaine in the show, expressed her sorrow on Facebook. “The empty space you’ve left behind will be sorely felt,” she wrote. “Thank you for being the beautiful soul you were. Fly with the angels, sweetheart.”

Bronwyn had a steady stream of acting jobs and even appeared in the BBC series Holby City. She was an acclaimed stage actress too and won a Naledi Theatre prize for her role in the play Shirley, Goodness and Mercy in 2007.

On the weekend of her death she was due to record a final episode for a radio soapie on the station RSG.

But when her husband, Grant Spreadbury (37), tried to call her that morning there was no answer.

Grant, a DJ for special events, was with Bronwyn’s parents at their home in Bellville, Cape Town. He and Bronwyn were due to move to the Western Cape and she was still in their flat in Northwold, Joburg, with their beloved pitbull, Manny, while she finished up her work.

Now Grant has the grim task of packing up the flat they lived in for eight years.

He’s too heartbroken to speak to us but Bronwyn’s parents, Felicia (66) and Terry (65), welcome us into their home, where a picture of their smiling daughter is propped up on a table alongside a bunch of pink and white flowers.