Mira Furlan, who played Lost's Danielle Rousseau and Babylon 5's Deleen, dies at 65

Mira Furlan, the Croatian actress best-known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on Babylon 5 and Danielle Rousseau on Lost, has passed away. She was 65. Her death was confirmed on Twitter by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.

The cause of her death is unknown, however Straczynski does note in a touching tribute he shared that the cast and crew of the series had "known for some time now that Mira's health was fading." 

He also went on to say: "It is a night of great sadness, for our friend and comrade had gone down the road where we cannot reach her. But as with all things, we will catch up with her in time, and I believe she will have many stories to tell us, and many new roles to share with the universe."

Before continuing, in part: "Mira was a good and kind woman, a stunning, talented performer, and a friend to everyone in the cast and crew of Babylon 5, and we are all devastated by the news. The cast members with whom she was especially close since the show’s end will need room to process this moment, so please be gentle if they are unresponsive for a time. We have been down this road too often, and it only gets harder."

Born in the former Yugoslavia, Furlan was a member of the Croatian National Theatre and acted in many shows and movies, including the 1985 Academy Award-nominated film When Father Was Away on Business, in which she played Ankica Vidmar. She eventually emigrated to the United States in 1991, where she landed the role of Delenn, a Minbari ambassador whose home is eventually embroiled in a civil war, on Babylon 5 a year later. She starred in all five seasons of the cult classic series, as well as some of the TV movies. 

Six years later, in 2004, she was cast as Danielle Rousseau, a scientist who'd been shipwrecked on the Island 16 years before the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, on the hit series Lost, appearing in 20 episodes across all six seasons. 

Furlan's additional TV credits include voicing the Silver Sable in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, guest-starring as The Traveller on Prime Video's Just Add Magic, and most recently, playing Vonn Odara on Space Command. 

Furlan is survived by her husband (and Babylon 5 director) Goran Gajić and their son Marko. 

All five seasons of Babylon 5 will be available to stream on HBO Max starting Jan. 26.