Lindsey Erin Pearlman (October 5, 1978 – February 18, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles on General Hospital, Chicago Justice and The Ms. Pat Show. She was also active in television commercials.[1]
Personal life
Pearlman was born on October 5, 1978, in Chicago, Illinois, and started her acting career at a young age. She was married to Vance Smith,[2] a film producer and director.
She was a staunch animal rights activist. Through her work as an organizer for Circus Protest Chicago,[3] she helped to abolish the use of wild animals in Ringling Brothers Circus.[4] Pearlman devoted a great deal of time and effort to rescuing, fostering, and finding permanent homes for animals.[5][6] In her final years, she frequently worked as a trap-neuter-return volunteer with the Sante D'Or Foundation.[7]
Pearlman trained at The Second City Conservatory.[8] Before moving to Los Angeles in 2017, she was an active member of the Chicago theatre community. In 2013, she won the Non Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Actress in a Principal Role for her work in the play Never the Bridesmaid.[9] She also toured to colleges and military bases around the world as a performer in Catharsis Productions' Sex Signals, an interactive improvisational comedy show geared towards sexual assault prevention.[10]
On February 15, 2022, Pearlman was reported missing to LAPD.[12] Police found her body in a vehicle[13] on February 18, after responding to a radio call for a death investigation at Franklin Avenue and North Sierra Bonita Avenue.[14] The cause of death, confirmed by the Los Angeles County medical examiner, was determined to be suicide by intentional overdose of sodium nitrite.[13]
