Rivera starred in Glee from 2009-2015 and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
Morris and Rivera worked together in the six seasons of the popular Fox musical comedy. Morris played cheerleader Brittany Pierce, whose romance with Rivera’s closeted fellow cheerleader Santana Lopez became a fan-favourite storyline.
American actor and dancer Heather Morris paid a heartfelt tribute to her late Glee co-star Naya Rivera on the fourth anniversary of her tragic demise. In an Instagram post featuring a black and white photograph of the two women seated on a bed, Morris wrote, “I can’t believe it’s been 4 years..boy how time flies. Yet every year I’m taken by surprise how much it still hurts. We grew up together, fell apart, and came back together in such a beautiful way.” Morris and Rivera had worked together in the six seasons of the popular Fox musical comedy.
Morris played cheerleader Brittany Pierce, whose romance with Rivera’s closeted fellow cheerleader Santana Lopez became a fan-favourite storyline.
“God you’re missed so much… except I can’t shake the feeling you never left… you’re still here with us..guiding us to our highest potential. I miss you Nay Nay,” Morris added in her post.
According to Billboard, actress, singer and model Naya Marie Rivera, 33, at the time, went missing for about six days. Later, it was revealed that she had reportedly drowned and passed away after taking a boat ride with her then-four-year-old son. The incident took place in July 2020.
Rivera starred in Glee from 2009-2015. She also won a Screen Actors Guild Award and an ALMA Award for her work on the show. She also shared two Grammy Award nominations with her cast mates. Apart from Glee, Rivera also appeared in several films, including her debut in 2002’s Dana Carvey comedy, The Master of Disguise. In 2024, she appeared in At the Devil’s Door and also had a posthumous voice role in 2021’s Batman: The Long Halloween.
She married actor Ryan Dorsey in 2014 and they welcomed a child together in September 2015. The couple reportedly separated in December 2017.
Rivera was reported to be missing on July 8, 2020 after the couple’s son was found alone on a rented boat in the Lake Piru reservoir in Ventura County, CA. Her son told the investigators that his mother had gone swimming and was unable to climb back on the boat before she disappeared. Rivera’s body was found by divers in the lake on July 13, reported Billboard.
