Confirmed: GLEE Star Naya Rivera Found Dead at 33 Years Old

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By: Jul. 13, 2020
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Naya Rivera's body has been recovered from Lake Piru, according to the Ventura Country Sheriff's department. Rivera, best known for her role as Santana on Glee, was 33.

According to a tweet sent out by the Ventura Co. Sheriff department this morning, "A body has been found at Lake Piru this morning. The recovery is in progress. There will be a news conference at 2 pm at the lake."

At the press conference, it was confirmed that the body found was Rivera. It is presumed that she drowned, though an autopsy has not been conducted.

Rivera was boating on Lake Piru in Ventura County with her 4-year-old son, Josey, on Wednesday evening. Josey was found asleep on a boat on the lake at 5pm, but told authorities that his mom never got back on the boat after the two went swimming. Josey was found with a life vest, but Rivera was not wearing one, officials said.

Naya Rivera began her career as a child actress and model, appearing in national television commercials before landing the role of Hillary Winston on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Royal Family at the age of 4 (1991-1992), for which she received a nomination for a Young Artist Award.

After a series of recurring television roles and guest spots as a teenager, Rivera received her breakthrough role as an adult as Santana Lopez on the FOX television series Glee (2009-2015), for which she received nominations for numerous accolades.

She was signed to Columbia Records as a solo artist in 2011 and released a single in 2013, "Sorry", featuring rapper Big Sean. Rivera made her feature film debut as Vera in the horror film At the Devil's Door (2014), and recurred as Blanca on the third season of the Lifetime Television series DEVIOUS MAIDS in 2015. In 2016, she published a memoir with TarcherPerigee, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up.

Photo Credit: BEImages/Jim Smeal


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