Maxine Klibingaitis, the Australian actress best known for starring on popular television shows Neighbours and Prisoner, died suddenly on Monday at the age of 58. Her death was announced on Facebook by the Prisoner fan club Partners in Crime. The fan page also said Maxine's death was "very sudden and unexpected".
Klibingaitis portrayed the teenage punk Bobbie Mitchell on Prisoner from 1983 until 1985 and also played the apprentice plumber Terry Inglis on Neighbours for six months in 1985. The announcement in the group read: "Maxine Klibingaitis 1964 - 2023. She is survived by her son Zane, TV Tonight reported.
Sudden and Unexpected
A fan page dedicated to Australian TV show Prisoner announced the news with a post that read: "Maxine Klibingatis 1964 - 2023. We regrettably announce that actress Maxine Klibingaitis has passed away today.
"Maxine played the much-loved character of Bobbie Mitchell in Prisoner, Terri Inglis in Neighbours and many other roles in Australian TV.
"Maxine was only 58. We send our sincere condolences to her son, Zane and Maxine's family & friends. RIP Maxine."
The fan page also mentioned that Maxine's death was "very sudden and unexpected".
Partners in Crime made it clear that the post was not a "hoax" and that Klibingaitis' death was "sudden and unexpected" and that this information had been confirmed by a friend.
"Just to clarify for those inboxing me, the sad news is not a hoax. A very close friend of Maxine's called me late today," wrote the admin, known as Maria.
"[They] asked me to post the sad news so that Maxine's fans would know. Maxine had many fans. Regards, Maria."
Her final appearance in public was at a reunion for Prisoner in 2019.
Cause of Death Unknown
The exact cause of her death is unknown and her son is yet to speak on her sudden demise. Fans of Neighbours will remember Klibingaitis for playing Terry in her storyline in the middle of the 1980s, in which she married the evil Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis).
Her run came to an end when Terry committed suicide, becoming the first Ramsay Street character to do so.
On the drama series Prisoner, Klibingaitis played the role of Bobby, who was abducted and beaten before making a daring prison break.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Klibingaitis made several other appearances on Australian TV, notably in episodes of Home and Away, The Flying Doctors, and All Together Now.
She married television director Andrew Friedman in 1987.
