(RNN) - "True Blood" star Nelsan Ellis died of complication from heart failure at age 39, reports say.
Ellis played Lafayette Reynolds, a gay short-order cook, on the HBO series.
Alan Ball, who created the vampire drama, told the Los Angeles Times that Nelsan was "a singular talent whose creativity never ceased t amaze me. Working with him was a privilege.
Ellis was born Nov. 30, 1977, near Chicago, in Harvey, IL. He was raised for a while in Bessemer, AL, by his grandmother, and at age 15 returned to Illinois.
He graduated from Juilliard School after attending Oxford University and Columbia College in Chicago.
Survivors include his grandmother, father, son and seven siblings.
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