He passed away this week.
Ugly Betty creator Silvio Horta has died, aged 45.
The showrunner and writer was found dead in a Miami motel room this week, according to Variety.
Horta’s representative confirmed the death this morning but did not provide any further comment.
Ugly Betty star America Ferrera has since paid tribute to Horta.
On Instagram, she wrote that she was “stunned and heartbroken” to hear the news of his passing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Cg9OehJkj/?utm_source=ig_embed
“His talent and creativity brought me and so many others such joy & light,” said Ferrera.
“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 was born in Miami to Cuban parents.
He was best known for writing the screenplay for popular cult horror thriller Urban Legend, as well as later creating ABC’s Ugly Betty.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7CiRPRhw_-/?utm_source=ig_embed
The series ran for four years between 2006 and 2010, and followed the life of a Mexican American woman named Betty Suarez, who bags herself a job in a prestigious fashion magazine in Manhattan.
Ugly Betty had originally been adapted from Colombian show, Yo soy Betty, la fea.
Fellow star Vanessa Williams also paid tribute to Horta this morning, writing that she was “still in shock” after hearing the news.
“His creativity and passion will be missed by so many of us that worked with him,” she wrote. “May he Rest In Peace.”
