Ugly Betty Creator Silvio Horta Found Dead From Apparent Suicide

Our hearts are broken at the news that Ugly Betty creator Silvio Horta has passed away. Horta was 45.

Horta was found dead in a Miami motel room on Tuesday, and the cause of death has been reported as suicide, accoridng to Variety, whose sources say Horta was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. While a representative for Horta confirmed his death, they declined to comment on the nature of it.

Horta served as showrunner and head writer of Ugly Betty, an American adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea. The show starred America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, a tenacious young journalist climbing her way up the corporate ladder at Mode magazine. It was high camp and smartly written, regularly cleaning up during awards season. Ferrera, who won an Emmy and Golden Globe for her role, said on Instagram that she was "stunned and heartbroken" to learn of Horta's death, sharing a message alongside a photo of the Ugly Betty cast and crew at the Golden Globes.

"His talent and creativity brought me and so many others such joy & light," Ferrera wrote. "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."

Vanessa Williams, who played deliciously evil creative director Wilhelmina Slater on the series, wrote that she was "in shock after hearing the tragic news of our Ugly Betty creator Silvio Horta. His creativity and passion will be missed by so many of us that worked with him."

Michael Urie, who played driven gay assistent Marc on the series, shared that Horta "gave me a huge break on #UglyBetty. He broke barriers and saved lives. Losing him is hard. This photo is from the GLAAD awards when we won. I hear from LGBTQ people all the time that the show helped them. Me too. He and that show will always be with me."

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