British actress Anna Chancellor has announced the death of her only daughter, Poppy, 36, after a battle with leukaemia.
A statement was shared on Poppy’s official Instagram account, which she used to promote her work as an artist, saying ‘her body could not continue any longer’ and that she was surrounded by her loved ones when she died.
“To all you wonderful and most loved friends of Poppy. We send you this message with our deepest love,” the heartbreaking post began.
READ MORE: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Jake Abraham dies at 56
READ MORE: Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville splits from wife Lulu after 25 years of marriage
“On September 29th Poppy died, held tight by her immediate family just as she had wished. Despite every effort, her body could not continue any longer.”
“We will be forever grateful to her kind and loving care team at the Royal Marsden. So we, her family and friends who all adore her join the other families who have lost their loved ones far too young.”
The statement continued, calling Poppy ‘an unbelievable life force’.
READ MORE: Wheel of Fortune star Sophie Falkiner announces her engagement at 50
“We continue to pray and support her in any way we can to further her soul’s journey. Poppy was and is an unbelievable life force of creativity, compassion, wit, beauty and sheer uniqueness.”
It finished: “She transformed our lives and we are beyond grateful. With all our love, Anna, Redha, Jonny & Tara.”
Underneath the post, singer Sophie Ellis Bextor replied saying Poppy was a ‘bright and beautiful soul’.
For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here
“I’m heartbroken to hear she’s not here. She definitely made a mark. Sending love to all,” she wrote.
In the weeks leading up to her death, Poppy revealed she had a stem cell transplant and even danced in a clip ahead of receiving the treatment.
“Dancing is the best medicine 💗 I am currently in hospital for the next month but here was me yesterday and the days running up to my admission vibing to some Craigy D and garage classics,” she wrote in a post in August.
In May, Poppy told The Daily Mail: ”I am terrified and physically exhausted – at the same time as learning to talk to my body and cells with loving defiance.’’
Anna Chancellor, 58, is known for films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, What a Girl Wants and BBC thriller, The Hour.