Colleagues Remember Jim Carrey's Girlfriend Cathriona White: 'One of the Sweetest People I've Ever Met'

Those who knew Cathriona White describe her as "a wonderful soul"

Photo: Alberto Reyes/WENN

The death of Jim Carrey‘s on-and-off girlfriend Cathriona White by apparent suicide has come as a shock to those who knew her.

“Cat was a very nice, sweet, cheerful person to work with,” Brie Childers, a photographer who recently worked with the makeup artist tells PEOPLE. “She would do make up on celebrities and they would enjoy having her on set with them, and they would look beautiful when she was done.”

“She was someone who I would look forward to seeing on my shoots,” added Childers. “She left a trail behind of smiles, and I hope she will find some peace now.”

Ali Levine, a stylist who also recently worked on a photo shoot with White, says she was very surprised by her death.

“I am shocked because I never saw this in a million years coming,” says Levine, who encourages anyone who needs help to seek it through the Patrick M. D’Aliso Foundation. “She is and was one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met in this industry, a wonderful soul. Had I known, I would have definitely reached out and said something.”

The Irish native, 30, was pronounced dead Monday night at her Los Angeles home.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Coroner s Office told PEOPLE a note was found, and that there were pills located near her, though the death can’t be ruled a suicide until toxicology results are released.

White and Carrey reportedly first met on a film set in 2012, and were last spotted together in May.

“She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled,” Carrey said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “My heart goes out to her family and friends and to everyone who loved and cared about her.”

• With reporting by MIA MCNIECE