Raquel Pankowsky is a well-known Mexican television and film actress. She died on Monday, March 28th, at the age of 69. The National Association of Interpreters of Mexico was the first to report her death (ANDI).
The group posted on Twitter:
“The death of Raquel Pankowsky, a performance partner of @ANDIMexico, has been announced… We extend our heartfelt sympathies to her family and friends.”
@ANDIMexico comunica el fallecimiento de la socia intérprete Raquel Pankowsky.
Es recordada por su participación en producciones como “Carrusel”, “un gancho al corazón” y “Papá a toda madre”.
A sus familiares y amigos les mandamos nuestras más sentidas condolencias. pic.twitter.com/G6CF0JFlWE
— ANDIMEXICO (@ANDIMexico) March 28, 2022
Later, radio personality Maxine Woodside revealed further information concerning Pankowsky’s death. Among the late actress’s friends are actor Edgar Verval and comedian Eduardo Spain.
Raquel Pankowsky’s cause of death
ANDI and Pankowsky’s family did not announce the official cause of death. However, Maxine Woodside, presenter of the Todo Por La Mujer radio program, revealed on Monday that the reason for her death was complications from her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The actress was also observed lugging her oxygen tank during one of her most recent gigs, according to the presenter. Following her death, numerous local websites partially supported Woodside’s accusations, claiming that Raquel Pankowsky had been a smoker since she was a child. Her lifestyle choices may have exacerbated her COPD. Pankowsky was apparently in a coma for four days in 2019 after a complication of her sickness, according to numerous local sources.
Pankowsky, according to Excelsior, had been a longtime smoker who began when she was 11 years old. She discussed her struggle to overcome her cigarette addiction in a 2010 interview with Sumedico.
She said,
“When I was a kid, all the performers smoked; you saw the sensuous, graceful, large women with their cigarettes on their lips; thus with that picture in mind, I began smoking when I was 11… I’ve always had a strong need for smokes; we were supposed to be friends.”
Raquel Pankowsky claimed in the same interview that she had been cautioned about getting pulmonary emphysema if she did not stop smoking. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease reduces and may block airflow in the lungs. This condition is often caused by breathing gases for an extended length of time or by smoking regularly for a long period of time, which is the most prevalent cause of COPD among non-industrial workers. COPD often leads to problems such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which becomes the leading cause of mortality for those suffering from the condition.
A look into late Raquel Pankowsky’s legacy
Pankowsky started acting in high school and afterward attended the National Association of Actors (ANDA) to further his education. In her adolescence, in the 1970s, the actress began working. One of her earliest jobs, according to IMDb, was in 1978’s La plaza de Puerto Santo. Following a string of small TV and film appearances, Pankowsky was cast in Camila, where she played Gloria in 90 episodes from 1998 to 1999. In 2005’s El Privilegio de Mandar, she played Mexico’s former First Lady Marta Sahagn, wife of former Mexican President Vicente Fox. According to IMDb, Pankowsky has appeared in over 61 productions during the course of her almost 50-year acting career.
