Samantha Weinstein, who is best known for her role as Heather in Carrie (2013), has died after a short battle with ovarian cancer. Her family confirmed her death, which occurred at 11:25 a.m. on May 14, in a statement on May 15 – she was surrounded by her loved ones at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.
“After two and a half years of cancer treatment, and a lifetime of jet-setting around the world, voicing a plethora of cartoon animals, making music, and knowing more about life than most people ever will, she is off on her next adventure,” her family wrote in a statement that was posted to her Instagram account.
In January 2021, Weinstein had ‘emergency surgery to remove a massive cyst that swallowed one of my ovaries.’ Three months later, she confirmed that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and decided to remain open about her cancer journey – in hopes of giving others a ‘shed of strength’ in their own battle.
RELATED: 30 Inspiring Celebrities Who Have Battled Cancer and Won
Samantha Weinstein has been acting since she was six years old and received her first big break in 2004 when she was cast in a film called Siblings. She appeared in several more films between 2005 and 2008 – including Big Girl (2005), The Stone Angel (2007), Toronto Stories (2008), and The Rocker (2008).
Weinstein received her next big break in 2013 when she was cast as Heather in Carrie – the fourth film in the Carrie franchise. Her last appearance in a film was in Reign (2015), but she has since been featured as a voice actor in numerous TV shows – including The ZhuZhus, Wishfart, D.N. Ace, and Dino Ranch.
The 28-year-old leaves behind a husband, Michael Knutson, who she married on October 29, 2022 – roughly two years after being diagnosed with cancer. The couple went on their first date just a week after that diagnosis – Samantha warned Michael of her sudden disease, but he insisted on being there for her.
“Michael smiled and squeezed my hand. His mother had fought cancer for eight years and had passed away two years ago. He was ready for this,” she wrote in a letter, which was published by Love What Matters in July 2022. “He taught me, love is selfless and reminded me to let others take care of me too.”
Samantha Weinstein Was at Her Peak Before Her Diagnosis
In that open letter to Love What Matters, Samantha Weinstein couldn’t help but share her utter shock over learning of the ovarian cancer diagnosis. At the time, she was ‘in the best shape of my life’ and assumed that she ‘was at the peak of what I assumed would be the rest of my life as a young creative in Toronto.’
“There was no history of cancer in my family. I had just finished filming a music video with my punk rock band, Killer Virgins, and we were a week away from releasing our first major single. I was working as a full-time voice actor and living with a cool, hippie-earth-mama roommate and her two kittens,” she wrote.
Then, one night, she was walking home from a friend’s house – where she was drinking ‘entirely too much wine’ – when she started to feel and look bloated. She knew she wasn’t pregnant and didn’t panic at the time because her friends reassured her that it was normal – they thought it was just ‘ovulation.’
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 15 Celebrities Who Have Dealt With Truly Heartbreaking Tragedies
“Spoiler alert – it was not ovulation or something,” she wrote in the open letter. It didn’t take long before she was laying down on an operating table while surgeons removed a massive cyst from her body. Now, more than two years later, Samantha Weinstein is no longer with us – may she rest in peace.