Actress Marnie Schulenburg has died of cancer at the age of 37, two years after she was diagnosed with stage-four metastatic breast cancer.
Representatives for Schulenburg, best known for her roles on As the World Turns and One Life To Live, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the soap star died on Tuesday at a hospital in the US state of New Jersey.
She is survived by her husband Zack Robidas, who had roles on Succession and Sorry for Your Loss, and their two-year-old daughter Coda.
"Please don't say Marnie lost her battle to cancer. It's simply not true. I watched her kick cancer's ass every day since diagnosis," Robidas said, according to Variety.
"She is incredible. We chose to attack her diagnosis with blind optimism. We only talked about the future and continued moving forward. I don’t know if this was right but it's all we knew how to do."
'Screw the oxygen mask'
On social media, fans have paid tribute to the actress, who had documented her battle with cancer after initially being misdiagnosed with mastitis.
She had described it as an "insidious" and "aggressive" disease that affects "younger women, and disguises itself as a breastfeeding infection".
In her final Instagram post on Mother's Day, Schulenburg reflected her diagnosis two years earlier, saying she "truly thought my life was over".
"So here’s to remembering that nothing is permanent," she wrote.
"To soaking up the imperfections and that the best thing you can do for your child is make them feel loved, safe and supported just like my mother did for me.
"Screw the oxygen mask, just remember how to breathe."
