Octavia Spencer has announced that her nephew has died and said it has been the 'second-worst day of her life'.
The Hidden Figures actress, 52, took to Instagram to share a picture of a table top with a vase filled with pink flowers.
She captioned the post: "Grief. You wouldn’t know it by this picture that today was the second-worst day of my life.
"My family lost the first of the next generation of us, and we’re gutted. Grief is the most terrifying of emotions because I can’t laugh my way out of it.
"I have to feel. Right now, I’m feeling for my sister who lost her only son. Her only child. If you’re praying people, pray for her and my brother in law."
Octavia turned off the comment section of the post as she grieves her relative.
The heartbreaking news only comes a few days after the Shape Of Water star celebrated her 52nd birthday on May 25.
She said the occasion felt bittersweet due to the school shooting in Uvalde the day before which saw a gunman fatally shoot nineteen students and two teachers and wounded seventeen others.
Octavia also mentioned the mass shooting in a Buffalo supermarket on May 14 which saw ten black people getting killed and three other people being injured.
Along with a photo of three 'Happy Birthday' balloons being caught in her neighbour's tree, she thanked people for the birthday wishes.
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The iconic actress captioned the post: "Thank you all for the outpouring of well wishes and love on my 50th (IMBD age [winky face]) birthday. It’s bittersweet.
"This picture was taken on my actual birthday. Some friends stopped by to surprise me with balloons and the wind took them to a neighbor’s tree. The good Lord knew we needed the laugh considering the terrifying week."
She continued: "The tragedies in Buffalo and Uvalde are emblematic of a greater problem in this nation: apathy. We’ve become desensitized to the evil genie that is gun violence. Clearly, the genie is out of the bottle but it can be stopped. How?
"Well, we have to take its power!! A genie with no magic is just a puff of smoke. Change the damn gun laws. My thoughts and prayers are with those who lost family members this week."
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