After the tragic death of Glee star Naya Rivera, tributes for the actress have flooded in online from friends, family, co-stars and fans.
Rivera, 33, disappeared on July 8 after taking a boat out onto Lake Piru, near Santa Clarita, in California with her four-year-old son, Josey. He was found alone and asleep on the boat several hours later. After a five-day search for the actress, her body was discovered on July 13.
Officials announced that there was no indication of foul play or suicide and an autopsy confirmed that Rivera had died by drowning.
Just days before her disappearance, Rivera had posted on Twitter urging her fans to “make the most of today and every day you are given.”
Rivera’s career started in the 1990s as a child actress with small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Family Matters, Baywatch, and Even Stevens. She later shot to stardom in 2009 as a high school cheerleader, Santana Lopez, on the musical television series Glee. Originally cast as a background character, Rivera’s wit, humour and talent shined through and she quickly became one of the most loved characters, championing storylines for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Tributes have flooded in on Twitter and Instagram for the actress in the weeks following her death from her Glee co-stars and other friends and family. Glee actor Kevin McHale wrote on Twitter: “She was so independent and strong and the idea of her not being here is something I cannot comprehend. She was the single most quick-witted person I ever met, with a steel-trap memory that could recall the most forgettable conversations from a decade ago verbatim.”
Rivera’s Glee castmates also gathered at the banks of Lake Piru, near Los Angeles, to pay their respects.
Fan tributes have also filled social media in the past two weeks, along with YouTube clips of Rivera’s most iconic performances as Santana Lopez – including Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’ and ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ from the 1964 musical Funny Girl.
Perhaps most heartbreakingly of all, Rivera’s ex-husband Ryan Dorsey posted on Instagram for the first time since her disappearance to express his grief at her passing. “I don’t know if I’ll ever believe it. You were just here… We were just in the back swimming with Josey the day before. Life just isn’t fair. I don’t know what to say…I’m thankful for our times and our journey that brought us together and gave us the sweetest and kindest smart little boy we could ever hope for.”
Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub tragically said that the actress “mustered enough strength” to get her son to safety “but not enough to save herself.”
Words by Kate Goodyer
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