Choreographer Criscilla Crossland Anderson, who has performed with stars from Britney Spears to Rihanna, has died from colon cancer. She was 45.
Her death was confirmed by her friend and photographer, Lindsey, on Instagram on Wednesday, Dec. 3. “My heart is shattered to share this. I promised Criscilla I would walk this journey with her whenever she couldn’t stand on her own two feet, and I pray she knows how fiercely she was loved,” she wrote alongside multiple photos of Anderson. “Being by her side until the very end was the greatest honor of my life.”
The hip-hop dancer, who starred in the 2020 Netflix reality series “Country Ever After” alongside her ex-husband Coffey Anderson, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in 2018. She was cancer-free in 2021 before it returned, affecting her lymph nodes, in 2022.
In a Nov. 15 Instagram post, Anderson revealed that her initial prognosis seven years ago declared she had a life expectancy of two years.
She shared three children with Texas country music singer Coffey Anderson, whom she married in 2009, including their firstborn son, Ethan, and daughters Emmarie and Everleigh. She was also a step-mother to Savannah, Coffey’s daughter from a previous marriage.
Criscilla and Coffey were undergoing divorce proceedings at the time of her death. As a couple, the two starred in one season of the Netflix series that offered a glimpse into their lives as a family and her battle with cancer.
Criscilla Anderson’s final message before her death
Before she died, Anderson wrote a message to her loved ones, her community and her supporters. Her friend, Lindsey, shared her words in the caption of her Dec. 3 post.
“My sweet community, if you’re reading this, I’ve finally slipped into the arms of Jesus — peacefully and surrounded by love. Please don’t stay in the darkness of this moment. I fought hard and I loved deeply. I am not gone… I’m Home,” Anderson wrote.
Anderson also left touching words for her four children, whom she called her “whole heart.”
“Ethan, you made me a mom. I’m still beside you, cheering you on. Savannah, my bonus girl — you were a gift God knew I needed,” she wrote. “Emmarie, my Jesus-loving dancer — keep dancing through every season. Everleigh, my bright spark — chase your dreams boldly and without fear.”
“My babies… I am watching over you. When a moment feels warm, familiar, or too beautiful to be coincidence — that’s me. I’m still mothering you. I’m still yours.”
And to her friend, she wrote that she was the “best photographer on the planet… thank you for capturing my life so beautifully year after year. No more Photoshop, sis — Jesus just gave this girl wings!”
