Criscilla Anderson, dancer and star of Netflix reality series Country Ever After, has died of colon cancer. She was 45.
Her photographer Lindsey announced her death Tuesday on Instagram, sharing her final statement. Anderson had openly shared that she had the disease since 2018. You can read it in full below.
“If you’re reading this, I’ve finally slipped into the arms of Jesus — peacefully and surrounded by love,” Criscilla said in the statement posted to her social media accounts. “Please don’t stay in the darkness of this moment. I fought hard and I loved deeply. I am not gone… I’m Home.”
“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,” the statement continued. “I’m still yours. #everybutterfly“
Anderson’s family was featured in Country Ever After, a Netflix reality show which aired for one season in 2020. In the show, Criscilla was undergoing treatment for stage three colon cancer as she raised her children and continued to work as a dancer.
Her ex-husband Coffey Anderson remembered Criscilla on Instagram, saying she “defined strength and fighter like no other person on the planet.”
“Heaven gained a star today,” he wrote. “We miss you already. Our hearts are shattered. Our minds are jumbled. Our lives will never be the same. The house is quieter because you’re missing. The babies are resilient and strong as ever. We did good with them. So, dance your heart out on the beach in heaven.”
Viola Davis is among many who paid tribute to Anderson in a reply to the Coffey Anderson’s post.
“Beautiful, fitting tribute,” she wrote. “My heart and prayers are with you.”
