Erica Ash, ‘Real Husbands of Hollywood’ star, dies at 46

Erica Ash, the “Mad TV” alum who also starred in “Real Husbands of Hollywood” and “Survivor’s Remorse,” has died. She was 46.

The film and TV actor died Sunday after a “long and courageous battle with cancer,” her family said in a statement to The Times. “She transitioned peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.”

Ash had been battling metastatic breast cancer, her publicist confirmed Tuesday.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved daughter, sister, and friend Erica Chantal Ash,” her mother, Diann Ash, said in the statement. “Erica was an amazing woman and talented entertainer who touched countless lives with her sharp wit, humor, and genuine zest for life. Her memory will live eternally in our hearts.”

Ash, who starred in BET’s legal drama “In Contempt” and four seasons of Kevin Hart’s parody series “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” was commemorated Monday by the networks as “being equal parts witty and funny.”

“We send our deepest condolences and love to her parents, siblings, friends, and family,” BET said on Instagram. “Fly high Queen”

Actor Loni Love, who hosted BET’s former talk show “The Real,” also saluted her “talented and hilarious friend” who would “put her all into her work.”

“She would always just be there.. now she’s gone.. My sincere condolences to her family,” Love tweeted.

Although Ash got an early start onstage with a credit in Broadway’s “Baby It’s You” and a touring production of “The Lion King,” she did not initially intend to work in the entertainment industry. She graduated from Emory University, where she studied medicine, but said she didn’t feel fulfilled and took a break to “figure it out for myself,” she told The Times in 2017.

She set off for Japan and booked a singing gig in her first week, did a bit of modeling and dabbled in ringside announcing too. She also landed her first film there and made enough money to pay off her student loans.

“Literally, one thing led to another, so I tell people I’m the Forrest Gump of my field. I just blindly, by faith, walked through life and said ‘yes’ to things that were presented to me, and it led me here,” Ash said.

Her varied career also included a bit of stand-up comedy, but she opted for a different trajectory after recognizing that she’s “an onstage and on-camera actress” and that “stand-up just isn’t my blessing.”

“Even though I had an overall good reception, I just didn’t like the way that it felt. It was a little too dark for me, emotionally. It felt dark, being onstage having an hourlong audition. I dipped my toe in the water and was like, ‘Oop, too cold!’” she said.

The actor settled into comedic work though, joining the casts of “The Big Gay Sketch Show” in 2006 and “Mad TV” in 2008. A few years later, she broke through as Kendra Brooks in 2013’s horror spoof “Scary Movie V” and landed the part of Bridgette Hart on “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” which aired on BET from 2013 to 2016.

“The first year of that show, that’s all people wanted me to play. But I was saying ‘no’ and decided I was just going to figure it out [financially],” she told The Times.

“Luckily, I’m really good with money. That afforded me the opportunity to say ‘no’ and wait to see what else came along. My agents would stress that I would be out of the loop, but I was like, ‘I don’t want to be in the loop and be pigeonholed.’ When another role came along, M-Chuck on ‘Survivor’s’ Remorse,’ it was perfect.”

Ash said she was aiming for a well-rounded career. She played M-Chuck in the Starz dramedy series “Survivor’s Remorse” from 2014 to 2017 and also appeared in the Jennifer Lopez procedural “Shades of Blue” and the CW vampire drama “Legacies.”

“I live my life like I’m writing a book, because at the end of the day, when I’m in some old folks home and nobody feels like visiting me, I’m going to have the stories of my life to entertain me,” she said.

“I want to make choices based on what I want to read about myself when I’m older. For me, it’s just about growing and moving forward.”

The family asked that any donations be made to the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation or other breast cancer foundations and said that it was “grateful for the kind expressions of love and support during this difficult time.”