Shortland Street star Nancy Brunning has died, aged 48.
Brunning had been battling an unknown illness. Family spokesperson Stacey Morrison said on Facebook, "our māma, our sister. our aunty. our friend. she has followed the call of her tīpuna".
She found fame as nurse Jaki Manu in the long-running Kiwi soap and also had an on-screen role in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted and Mahana.
Morrison said Brunning was "the person that bound our whānau together".
"We ask that you please respect the privacy of her whānau and friends at this time as we say our final farewells."
Brunning will be taken to Raukawa Marae in Otaki.
