Actress Bar Belfer, who shot to fame at age 17 for her leading role in Someone to Run With, died on Sunday, November 8, at the age of 37. Her cause of death was a severe epileptic seizure, according to a statement from her family's representative.
The news was confirmed in a statement by a representative for her family. "With great sadness, we share in the deep mourning for the late actress Bar Belfer. At this difficult and painful time, the family wishes to allow her time and space to digest the loss and deal with the grief in privacy," it said.
Her agent, Zohar Jacobson, later updated the statement to include the cause of death "for the avoidance of doubt."
Car accident and recovery
In 2010, while serving her compulsory time in the IDF, Belfer suffered a severe car accident that left her unconscious for more than four months. Her ability to walk, talk, and speak was impaired, and she also suffered amnesia as a result of her injuries.
As part of her recovery, she studied music, which led to her composing her own songs. She went on to perform them in concerts, adding a further string to her showbiz career.
By 2016, she had recovered sufficiently to resume her acting career.
Return to acting and later roles
She appeared in the TV shows Mama's Angel and The Malevolent Bride. She also acted in the film Don't Forget Me and some short films. The star also worked in radio.
Her most recent role was in the 2026 short drama film About That Day.
Reflections on the accident
In a 2018 interview, she opened up about the accident, which changed her life forever.
"I'm not minimizing it, but that's life," she said. "I sound terribly optimistic - and no, I had a hard time, and I suffered.
"But now, when everything is going well, and everything is normal, and I'm doing well in life, and I live with my lover in an amazing place, and I work an amazing job, and I make art, then everything is fine. Why think about it?" she pondered.
Breakthrough role and awards
Belfer broke through with her debut role in the 2006 film Someone to Run With, an adaptation of the novel by David Grossman, directed by Oded Davidoff.
In it, she played a Jerusalem teenager called Tamar who disappeared, taking refuge in a halfway house for runaways, as a boy who worked in the pound tried to reunite her with her lost dog.
The movie opened the Jerusalem Film Festival that year and saw Belfer nominated for an Ophir Award, the Israeli equivalent of an Oscar, for Best Actress. The movie was later made into a two-part television miniseries, and she won the Israeli Television Academy Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries.
