Rachael Carpani, an Australian actress best known for her portrayal of Jodi Fountain in McLeod’s Daughters, has died, Deadline reports. She was 45.
Carpani’s family confirmed her death in an Instagram post, saying that the actress had suffered from a chronic illness, but that her passing came “unexpectedly” earlier this month.
“It is with great sadness that Tony and Gael Carpani announce that their beautiful daughter, beloved Australian actress Rachael Carpani, unexpectedly but peacefully passed away after a long battle with chronic illness, in the early hours of Sunday 7th December,” the family said in the statement.
In a separate post, Bridie Carter (800 Words, It’s a Date), Carpani’s costar on McLeod’s Daughters, said “We know Rach will not only be missed immeasurably by her family, by us, but she is loved and will be missed by you all, around the world.”
Carpani most recently starred in season 37 of the Australian Channel 7 soap opera Home and Away, according to Deadline. She has also appeared in U.S. projects such as NCIS: Los Angeles, The Glades, and the Ben Affleck (The Accountant 2, Argo)-starring 2020 basketball film The Way Back.
But the actress’ biggest role has always been in McLeod’s Daughters, the Posie Graeme-Evans (Mirror, Mirror, Parallax) and Caroline Stanton (Blue Heelers, Stir)-created soap opera, where she played Jodi Fountain, the youngest child of Jack McLeod, for the duration of the show’s run from 2001 to 2009. Carpani had long sought to escape her reputation as the amiable Fountain, however, telling 7News last year that her move to the United States was precipitated in part from a desire not to be known as “Jodi from McLeod’s Daughters” in her native Australia, per Deadline.
In 2021, the actress revealed that she was hospitalized with abdominal pain and that she required surgery for an undisclosed illness, according to Deadline.