Best known for her appearances on the BET reality series Baldwin Hills, Ashley Taylor Gerren has died at 30 years old. She starred on the show from 2007 until 2009. The young model is confirmed to have passed away in her sleep this past Sunday. At this time, no cause of death has been announced.
Ashley Taylor Gerren was known professionally as Gerren Taylor. The woman started modeling at the age of 12 after she was discovered by a talent scout. The 2007 documentary America the Beautiful featured Ashley Taylor Gerren in an expose on America’s obsession with beauty. She became a known name when she later took a role in the reality series Baldwin Hills, which aired on BET.
Baldwin Hills came as a big break for Taylor. The show chronicles the lives of teenagers living in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles. The docuseries survived for three seasons before being canceled. It aired long enough to make Gerren Taylor a known name in the L.A. modeling world and officially launched her professional entertainment career. BET offered the following words in an official statement to Entertainment Weekly earlier today.
“The entire BET family mourns the passing of one of our own, Ms. Ashley Gerren Taylor, beloved star of BET’s Baldwin Hills. The untimely passing of such a young, bright light is difficult to process. BET’s thoughts and prayers go out to Ashley’s friends and family during this time.”
Fellow BET star Ray Cunningham, known for his appearances on College Hill: Virginia State University, said goodbye to his network cast mate on Instagram, sharing the following video message.
“Just got the worst news ever and I’m still not processing it fully. I’ve known @mstaylorxo since 2006, the #BaldwinHills cast was like the little sisters and brothers to #CollegeHill. I was sneaking her into parties with me. She was one of the first people to reach out to me when I shared my alopecia diagnosis and she shared her’s with me. I (heart) u. You will be missed. BET fam. Rest well love.”
“We love u Gerren. Together today for unfortunate circumstances but my @BET family is forever. @walkgoodetienne @tylerkaii @iammoriahj cc: @sherimarouf #BaldwinHills #CollegeHill.”
Ashley Taylor Gerren’s final instagram post included the message, “I’m very protective over the woman I am becoming.” Friends, co-stars and channel mates have been using the post to share their tributes to the fallen model, expressing their love and shock and what has transpired. It is unknown when a cause of death will be made public.
After Baldwin Hills was canceled on BET, Gerren began pursuing her modeling career as a full-time job. She signed with Ford Modeling Agency, and worked for such prolific designers as Betsey Johnson and Tommy Hilfiger. RIP, Ashley Taylor Gerren. She will be missed. This news was first reported by Entertainment Weekly.