Soap Opera Star, Model Renauld White Dead at 80

Renuald White — a soap opera star who broke down barriers for Black people in modeling — has died … according to one of his longtime friends.

Fashion designer Jeffrey Banks revealed the news to Women’s Wear Daily — a popular fashion magazine — Friday sharing White died last week while under hospice care in Manhattan. He did not provide a cause of death.

White rose to prominence via modeling in the 1970s … becoming just the second Black model to appear on the cover of GQ in 1979 — two years after Urs Althaus.

He modeled for some of the biggest designers and publications over the years … including working with Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Bill Blass while appearing on the cover of Playboy in 1982.

White made the jump to acting in 1986 … appearing in several episodes of “Guiding Light” as William Reynolds. He made several other appearances in TV and movies over the years — most recently starring in the 2017 horror movie “Central Park.”

Banks remembers Renauld in an Instagram post as “the perfect gentleman and a great ambassador for my brand. When first introduced to my Mother she claimed instantly that he was my ‘older brother.’ I only wished that was so.”

White’s funeral will be held next month in his hometown Newark, New Jersey … his hometown. He was 80.