Malcolm-Jamal Warner was on vacation in Costa Rica with his wife and their 8-year-old daughter when he tragically drowned on Sunday, July 20. He was 54.
He was swimming off the coast of Costa Rica’s Playa Grande beach in Cahuita, Limón when he drowned.
Costa Rican officials said “The Cosby Show” vet was caught in a strong current that pulled him deeper into the ocean and he drowned.
Bystanders pulled Malcolm-Jamal and another man out of the water, but the actor was “lifeless” and pronounced dead at the scene. His official cause of death is asphyxiation.
The second man, who is unidentified, is listed in critical condition at a local hospital in Costa Rica.
The news of Malcolm-Jamal’s drowning broke when his cousin, Kimora, announced his death in a post on X (Twitter) a few hours before TMZ reported his drowning on Monday.
“My cousin died yesterday after drowning in costa rica,” she wrote. “Yall pls be safe out here while traveling and doing water sports. Wear life jackets etc.”
Malcolm-Jamal leaves behind his wife and their minor daughter. He kept their identities a secret but he posted photos of them on social media.
In June 2017, Malcolm surprised his Instagram followers by announcing he was married and expecting his first child at age 46.
He shared a photo of himself and his wife – who wore an off-white wedding dress. She cradled her baby bump in the photo. Malcolm-Jamal captioned the post, “Yep.”
After his daughter was born, he shared a photo of himself holding her while she slept. He captioned the post, “Peaceful time with family takes on a whole new meaning now…”
Another photo from September 2023 shows father and daughter washing his SUV. He captioned the post: “This is a perfect example of the gem @alimiballard dropped in my last post. If you haven’t watched it already, you MUST. I’ve been up and down and slightly out of sorts these last few weeks for several reasons. Two things got me back to where I needed to be. Sunday night for movie night my daughter wanted to watch SING 2. Man, we laughed, bobbed our heads, and I found myself full of joy on the living room couch simply watching a movie with my wife and daughter.”
He continued: “I’ll tell you this for free: spending time watching a movie and then washing our vehicles together? Priceless. You can’t pay for genuine love and connection. It is my wish that everyone in this world have a loving support system. If you’re reading this and don’t have it, I’m wishing it for you. Positive outlooks and a happy life do not always come automatically. Sometimes we have to work for it. Sometimes the work is easy while other times takes a bit more work. But it’s worth it. Here’s to the work. And here’s to love that we all deserve to have, whether or not you believe you’re worthy of it.”
