The Welsh-born actor Andy Whitfield died on Sunday in Australia. He was 39. Andy was struggling with non-Hodgkin lymphoma for 18 months.

'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' star was definetly defeated by his cancer, Whitfield's wife Vashti said in a statement: "On a beautiful sunny Sydney spring morning, surrounded by his family, in the arms of his loving wife, our beautiful young warrior Andy Whitfield lost his 18 month battle with lymphoma cancer. He passed peacefully surrounded by love. Thank you to all his fans whose love and support have help carry him to this point. He will be remembered as the inspiring, courageous and gentle man, father and husband he was."

Whitfield appeared in all 13 episodes of the first season of Starz network's 'Spartacus' that aired in 2010, and was preparing to shoot the second when he was diagnosed with cancer.

In addition to his wife, Whitfield is survived by two children and a sister.