The creator of the hit US TV sitcom Ugly Betty, Silvio Horta, has died aged 45, his representative has confirmed.
The show’s star America Ferrera said she was “stunned and heartbroken” after the TV writer and executive producer was found dead on Tuesday in Miami.
Ugly Betty ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010 and was adapted from the Colombian show Yo soy Betty, la fea.
Ferrera posted a picture of the two of them together on Instagram, describing the news as “devastating”.
“His talent and creativity brought me and so many others such joy and light,” wrote Ferrera, who starred as Betty Suarez – an untrendy and naive Mexican-American journalist who takes a job at a high-end New York fashion magazine.
The role won the 35-year a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award.
“I’m thinking of his family and loved ones who must be in so much pain right now – and of the whole Ugly Betty family who feel this loss so deeply.”
Horta’s people refused to comment on the nature of his death.
