Christy Knowings, an actress who starred on Nickelodeon’s “All That,” died Tuesday in Long Beach, California. She was 46.
Her father, Charles Dunn, said she went into cardiac arrest after experiencing a severe asthma attack, according to the New York Times.
Knowings, who was born in the Bronx, grew up singing and dancing. Her father told the outlet that she did not consider pursuing entertainment professionally until she reached high school.
Knowings joined the cast of “All That” in 1997 and stayed for three seasons. She appeared in more than 30 episodes, portraying characters including Penny Lane, Brenda Stone in the “Channel 6 1/2 News” sketches and Jessica in the “Whateverrr!!!” segments. The series ran for 10 seasons and helped introduce several performers who went on to broader careers, including Nick Cannon, Amanda Bynes and Kenan Thompson, who later joined “Saturday Night Live.”
Thompson posted an Instagram on Thursday acknowledging Knowings’ death. In his post, he wrote, “Man this one hit hard!!! Rest well Christy!!! Never could have imagined this day!! Sending so much love to her family!! She was a real one and one of the funniest people out here!!! Gonna miss you buddy!!! Show @christyknowings some love y’all!!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾❤️❤️❤️😢”
She also appeared with her twin brother, Christopher Knowings, in episodes of “Sesame Street.” Her additional credits included a guest role on the 1990s police drama “New York Undercover,” a writing credit for the 2009 film “Mother and Child” and a folk single titled “To the World,” released in 2020.
In addition to her father and her twin brother, Knowings is survived by her mother, Rénee Knowings Dunn and siblings Charles Dunn Jr., Ashley Dunn Ledger, Yavonka Vega, Tamea Dunn and Lee Elder.