Demian Bichir announced the death of his wife, Canadian actress and model Stefanie Sherk, in a heartfelt message on Instagram.
The Mexican actor wrote early Wednesday that Sherk died "peacefully" on April 20. She was 37.
"It has been the saddest and toughest time of our lives and we don't know how much time it will take for us to overcome this pain," he said in his post with a picture of Sherk. "It is our sincerest hope that our beautiful Stefanie, my angel and love of my life, will rest in eternal peace."
Bichir did not specify the cause of death. He asked for respect during his time of mourning.
The couple started their relationship in 2010 and did not have children together. Bichir has a daughter, Gala, born in 2011.
Sherk was born in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Canada. She appeared in Bichir's directorial debut "Un Cuento de Circo & A Love Song," as well as the films "Star Power," ''Valentine's Day" and "Loco Love." She also starred in "#Hashtag: The Series."
Bichir, 55, was nominated for an Oscar for best actor in 2012 for his role in Chris Weitz's "A Better Life." He has also appeared in films like "The Hateful Eight," ''Che: Guerrilla" and "Sex, Shame & Tears."
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death — which came soon before the Russian president's reelection — or directly ordered it, according to the official.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
Soon after Navalny’s death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.
At the time, Biden said the U.S. did not know exactly what had happened to Navalny but that “there is no doubt” that his death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”
Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician and Putin’s most persistent foe, died Feb. 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.
He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
Russian officials have said only that Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.
In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin won a landslide reelection for a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about the U.S. intelligence determination.
FILE - Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny gestures while speaking during his interview to the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia on Dec. 18, 2017. U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, in February of 2024. An official says the U.S. intelligence community has found "no smoking gun" that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death or directly ordered it. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
