Dolores “Dee” Freeman, the actress known to soap fans for her appearances on The Young and the Restless and to Tyler Perry fans as Valerie Barnes on Sistas, has died. She was 66.
Her family confirmed the news on Friday, April 3, in a statement shared on Freeman’s Instagram account. She passed away peacefully on April 2, 2026, following a battle with stage 4 lung cancer.
The full statement reads:
“On behalf of her family, it is with deepest sadness that we share this update with you. Dee passed away peacefully on April 2, 2026 after a brave and fearless fight with cancer. Thank you to everyone who supported Dee during her battle. It blew her away to know how many people cared about her and were pulling for her. We know Dee is up there in heaven being the force of nature she always was. Now she’s doing it with her angel wings on. Rest in peace, Dee.”
Freeman announced her stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis in October 2025 via Instagram, at the same time launching a GoFundMe campaign to help cover her medical expenses.
“I need help covering the whopping medical expenses I’m incurring outside my medical insurance,” she wrote at the time. “I’m fighting this with not only western medicine but alternative medicine as well. Whether your donation is big or small, every cent helps.”
In that same post, she also reached out to casting directors, noting she remained available for work, a detail that captured the attention of many who shared her story. “I am available for your one or two liners,” she wrote, continuing to fight on every front available to her.
Who Was Dee Freeman?
Dee Freeman’s path to television was unlike most. Born Dolores Freeman on June 6, 1959, in Louisiana, she did not follow a straight line from childhood dreams to Hollywood auditions.
After high school, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for six years.
After leaving the military, she moved to Japan, where she built a career as a radio DJ before eventually returning to the United States and turning toward the arts.
She started in theater, built her skills on stage, and made her onscreen debut in 1995 in an episode of the ABC sitcom Coach.
From there, she began accumulating the kind of television credit list that most working actors spend decades chasing, not the headline roles, but the steady, craft-driven presence that keeps a career alive and earns the respect of everyone on set.
Freeman’s Stellar Career
Freeman appeared in an extraordinary range of television over the following three decades.
Her credits included Party of Five, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Suddenly Susan, Seinfeld, Caroline in the City, Kenan and Kel, The X-Files, The Hughleys, Six Feet Under, ER, Bones, Dexter, Shameless, and NCIS: Los Angeles.
She portrayed a judge and a nurse across three episodes of The Young and the Restless between 1997 and 2009.
From 2010 to 2015, she starred as Ribina Champagne in Pretty the Series, a parody reality show that showcased her comedic range.
Her most recent recurring role came on Tyler Perry’s Sistas, where she played Valerie Barnes, the mother of series character Andi Barnes, played by KJ Smith, across Seasons 9 and 10 on BET.
It was the role that brought her to a new generation of viewers and the one most fans are now remembering her for.
At the time of her death, Freeman was adapting her one-woman stage show Poison Gun into a novel.
The show, inspired by her family’s history, represented the kind of personal artistic project that she had been carrying with her through the years of guest appearances and recurring roles.
Freeman Kept Fighting Until The Very End
What made Freeman’s final chapter particularly striking was the way she faced it. When she announced her stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis on Instagram in October 2025, she did not simply ask for prayers.
She launched a GoFundMe to cover medical costs her insurance would not touch, explained exactly what she was doing to fight it, both conventional and alternative medicine, and in the same breath reached out to casting directors asking for work.
That last detail landed hard on people who shared her post. Here was a woman, diagnosed with terminal cancer, who still wanted to be on set. She still wanted to work.
The response from the public was significant enough that her family specifically referenced it in their statement, noting it “blew her away to know how many people cared about her and were pulling for her.”
She was adapting Poison Gun into a novel right up until the end. She was not finished.
A Statement From Her Publicist
Desirae L. Benson, Freeman’s publicist, released a statement that captured something essential about her client.
“Dee wasn’t just my client, she was someone I truly respected and admired. She carried herself with a level of grace, strength, and authenticity that is rare. Even in the face of stage 4 lung cancer, she showed up with courage and dignity. Dee had a quiet power that commanded respect without ever needing to demand it. Her legacy is not just in her work, but in how she made people feel, and that will stay with us forever.”
Dee Freeman is survived by her children Amber and Shane, her former husband, her mother, and her brothers and sisters.
