Remembering the ‘Good Times’ of Actress Ja’Net DuBois

Best known for her role as Willona Woods on the popular 1970s sitcom ‘Good Times’, Ja’Net DuBois, who also co-wrote The Jeffersons‘ theme song, died in her sleep in February 2020 without many knowing what she died of. But as it turns out, the beautiful star died of cardiac arrest, according to her death certificate obtained by TMZ.

Prior to her death, DuBois had suffered from peripheral vascular disease and chronic kidney disease, the death certificate shows. She also had high blood pressure.

Following her death, DuBois was cremated and her ashes were dispersed at sea, according to her death certificate.

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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The Glendale Police Department told PEOPLE, officers responded to a call regarding DuBois “not breathing” on the evening of Feb. 17. Officials later determined that DuBois was deceased.

We remember Ja’Net’s bubbly, tell-it-like-is, warm-hearted self in the gifts she left for us in her performances (see video below).

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Sudden cardiac death results when the heart unexpectedly stops beating, preventing blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. It’s usually caused by a sudden arrhythmia—a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system. Unless a sudden cardiac arrest is treated rapidly, within minutes, it is usually fatal.

African Americans – especially African American women – have a significantly higher risk of sudden cardiac death during their lifetime than whites, and much of the disparity can be attributed to income and education levels, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.

“We wanted to explain the risk of sudden cardiac death and identify factors that could explain the differences,” said Eliseo Guallar, M.D., Ph.D., the lead author of the study from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. “We found that overall, African Americans had approximately double the lifetime risk of sudden cardiac death compared to whites. African-American women had about triple the risk compared to white women.”