Obi Ndefo, an actor who had recurring roles on “Dawson’s Creek” and “Stargate SG-1,” died Aug. 28 at a Los Angeles-area hospital. He was 51.
Obi Ndefo’s sister, Nkem Ndefo, announced his death in a Facebook post on Saturday evening, writing: “Heartbroken over the loss of my younger brother and knowing he is finally at peace.”
On Monday, Nkem Ndefo shared more information about Obi Ndefo’s death about her X (formerly Twitter) story, including that the actor’s heart gave out in his long battle against the eating disorder orthorexia.
In another post on Xwrote Nkem Ndefo: “As his family, we share this news to draw attention to the seriousness of orthorexia and in the hope that those suffering from this devastating disease receive the compassionate care they deserve.”
Obi Ndefo was known for his role as Bodie Wells in the teen drama series ‘Dawson’s Creek’. His character, which he played from 1998 to 2002, was the boyfriend of Joey Potter’s (Katie Holmes) older sister, Bessie Potter (Nina Repeta).
He played the Jaffa warrior Rak’nor in ‘Stargate SG-1’ from 2000 to 2005 and appeared in other series including ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’, ‘The Wayans Bros.’, ‘The Jamie Foxx Show’, ‘ 3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Angel,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” “NYPD Blue” and “The West Wing.”
In 2019, Obi Ndefo lost both his legs after an accident in a Los Angeles parking lot. The actor was loading groceries into the trunk of his car when a drunk driver crashed into him LA times. His right leg was hit on impact, while the left leg was shattered and had to be amputated.
“This is such a horrible thing that happened to me, why would I make it worse by feeling bad about it?” Obi Ndefo told it LA times in 2019. “I didn’t even have to choose positivity.”
Obi Ndefo graduated from Yale University’s drama school, where he received his BA in 1994 and his MFA in 1997 (according to Yale News). In addition to his career as an actor, he worked as a yoga teacher.