Is Kimberly Elise Dead? False AIDS/HIV Death Rumors Sparked Confusion Online Among the Actress' Fans

Actress Kimberly Elise is a popular search item today. Wondering why, I began to investigate the super-talented thespian - along with why Kimberly Elise's name was so hot lately. Imagine my shock when "Kimberly Elise dead" and "Kimberly Elise death" came up as two of the top suggestions on Google Suggests Labs - indicating that plenty of people had already typed in that search term.

I dug around for official death certificates, reports and any valid indication that Kimberly Elise had in fact died. Thankfully, I found none.

Next I called the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, California, for more information. Turns out Kimberly Elise is not represented by WMA, but the lovely lady who answered told me all about IMDBPro.com, a fabulous site (with free trials!) that lists representation information about movie stars.

I found out that Kimberly Elise is represented by a manager at Untitled Entertainment in Beverly Hills, California. Unable to reach her agent for immediate comment, I dug further, contacting her talent agency, Paradigm, also in Beverly Hills, California.

Getting no immediate response to my inquiries about what I believed were false death rumors floating around the net about Kimberly Elise, I turned to the same flotilla where I first learn of the frantic "Is Kimberly Elise dead?" inquires - the world wide web of lies and truth.

Turns out all of these Kimberly Elise death rumors began as a result of "The Pact" episode of the TV show Girlfriends, wherein she played an HIV-positive character named Reesie Jackson. (The recent reairing of this episode is sure to spark Kimberly Elise death rumors afresh.)

At the end of the show, Girlfriends displayed a picture of a young woman with the name "Reesie Jackson" and the dates 1971 - 2003 and "Rest in Peace" beneath it.

Some viewers claim it was a picture of Kimberly Elise herself, and therein the death rumors began and grew. Other viewers claim that Reesie Jackson was a real woman with two children who died in real life from AIDS, and further confusion ensued when people continued to mix up Reesie Jackson's plight with Kimberly Elise.

TV viewers confused by an episode of Girlfriends surged to the net asking: "Is Kimberly Elise dead?"

Credit: Promo Photo

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