Bill Cosby's 'beloved and beautiful' daughter Ensa has died, aged 44

She's the second of Cosby's children to die

Credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Bill Cosby's daughter has died at the age of 44, just a month before he's due to face a retrial on rape charges.

According to TMZ, Ensa Cosby passed away on Friday in Massachusetts where the family has a home.

Cosby's spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, said that Ensa's death was the result of kidney disease.

​Cosby's daughter was a huge supporter of her father during his sexual assault trial last year saying the accusations were racially-charged.

"I'm a very private person and I've chosen to live my life with my family quietly but for my child, my niece and my nephew, and my father, I can't sit quietly anymore," Ensa said. "The man portrayed in the media today is not who my father is."

She then added that the sexual assault claims had damaged her father's reputation saying, "The accusations against my father have been one sided since the beginning, and when he tried to defend himself he was sued in civil court. I've seen the accusations become more horrific and extreme with time and I have witnessed my father's reputation and legendary work be dismissed without any proof."

Ensa continued, "I strongly believe my father is innocent of the crimes alleged against him and I believe that racism has played a big role in all aspects of this scandal."

She concluded her statement saying Bill had been "lynched in the media" and called the accusations against him "cruel."

Ensa was a yoga instructor in Sherburne Falls near her family's estate; she had also appeared in an episode of The Cosby Show during 1989.

The Cosby Show character Vanessa Huxtable was based on Ensa.

She married her husband Martin McLean in August 2013. She had one child from a previous relationship and McLean had four children.

For the past five years, Ensa and McLean had lived on the family estate. Ensa is the second child of Bill's that has passed away.

In 1997, his son Ennis was murdered in a car-jacking gone wrong in Los Angeles.

Ensa is survived by her husband, her parents Bill and Camille and her siblings Erika, Erinn and Evin.