Australian soap star Rachael Carpani has passed away at age 45 after ‘a long battle with chronic illness’, it has been announced.
The Home and Away actress died ‘unexpectedly but peacefully’, according to a statement from her parents, posted to Instagram by Rachael’s sister, Georgia.
‘It is with great sadness that Tony and Gael Carpani announce that their beautiful daughter, beloved Australian actress Rachael Carpani, unexpectedly but peacefully passed away after a long battle with chronic illness,’ it said.
‘The family requests privacy at this very difficult time and will be making no further statements.’
They added that Rachael’s funeral has been arranged, and will be a private event for close family and friends.
Rachael was best known for her role as Jodi Fountain, in the series McLeod’s Daughters, which aired in the early 00s.
She featured in the show from 2001-2009, and secured two Logie nominations for her role. In 2007, Rachael was nominated for the Silver Logie in the category Most Popular Actress and also the biggest award, the Gold Logie.
Rachael has also appeared in a variety of films, including The Very Excellent Mr Dundee, The Way Back and Hating Alison Ashley.
In 2024, she joined the cast of Home and Away as the villainous Claudia Salini. She had previously appeared in two episodes in 2001 as Miranda, a server in a diner.
Rachael made her first appearance as Claudia on August 29, in 2024. The star was attracted to the role after learning the character of Claudia was created by script executive Louise Bowes, who worked as a scriptwriter on McLeod’s Daughters.
Claudia was a businesswoman, who got stuck in Summer Bay as a result of being in a car accident.
Claudia blamed Justin Morgan (James Stewart) and Theo Poulos (Matt Evans) for the crash, as the two men serviced the car. The new face claimed that the brakes were faulty, and intended to sue Justin for negligence.
