LOS ANGELES (NEXSTAR) — Authorities in Ventura County, California say “Glee” star Naya Rivera is presumed dead after vanishing while boating with her son on Wednesday. Rivera would be the third major star of the popular musical-comedy series to die since the show debuted in 2009.
Rivera played Santana, a cheerleader in the show that aired on Fox from 2009 until 2015. The 33-year-old appeared in 113 episodes of the series and once dated co-star Mark Salling, who killed himself in 2018 after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.
In 2013, Cory Monteith, one of the show’s featured stars, died of an accidental overdose. The 31-year-old actor who played Finn Hudson was found dead in a hotel room. His death happened while the show was still in production.
One of television’s cheeriest shows turned out to be one of its saddest stories. Here’s more on cast members who’ve experienced tragedy.
Naya Rivera
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department late Wednesday said the search in the waters of Lake Piru near Los Angeles would resume on Thursday morning.
Rivera’s young son was found on a boat wearing a life vest. The Associated Press reports Rivera’s identification was found on the boat.
Rivera’s 4-year-old son is from a marriage with actor Ryan Dorsey. The couple finalized their divorce in June 2018 after nearly four years of marriage.
She called her young son “my greatest success, and I will never do any better than him” in her 2016 memoir “Sorry Not Sorry.”
The actress was engaged to rapper Big Sean in 2013, but their relationship ended a year later. The pair met on Twitter and collaborated musically, with the rapper appearing on Rivera’s debut single “Sorry.”
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Naya Rivera attends the 23rd Annual Race to Erase MS Gala held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, April 15, 2016. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) ![]()
Naya Rivera arrives at the Opening Of Famed Photographer Brian Bowen Smith’s WILDLIFE on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) ![]()
In this Aug. 31, 2016 photo, actress Naya Rivera poses for a portrait in New York. The “Glee” actress addresses her breakups, and events surrounding co-stars Mark Salling, Cory Monteith and Lea Michele in her new book, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, which was released on Sept. 13. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP) ![]()
Naya Rivera arrives at the Teen Choice Awards at the Galen Center on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) ![]()
FILE – In this Dec. 4, 2015, file photo, Ryan Dorsey, left, and Naya Rivera arrive at an event at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Rivera, an actress on the former hit show “Glee” was charged with domestic battery on her husband, Dorsey in Chesapeake, W.V., the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office tweeted Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) ![]()
FILE – In this May 5, 2017, file photo, Naya Rivera attends the 24th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif. A domestic battery charge against the “Glee” actress was dismissed in West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, after her husband decided not to seek prosecution. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File) ![]()
Charlotte McKinney, Tiffany Haddish and Naya Rivera seen at the Crackle Original Movie “Mad Families” Premiere Party at Catch LA on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Blair Raughley via AP) ![]()
FILE – In this Jan. 13, 2018, file photo, Naya Rivera participates in the “Step Up: High Water” panel during the YouTube Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif. Authorities say former “Glee” star Rivera is missing and being searched for at a Southern California lake. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department late Wednesday, July 8, 2020, confirmed that Rivera is the person being searched for in the waters of Lake Piru, which is approximately 56 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
Cory Monteith
The death of actor Cory Monteith in 2013 was ruled an accident with a coroner saying Monteith “died of mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol,” according to KTLA.
At 31 years old, Monteith had a history of drug use and rehabilitation attempts. “Glee” co-star Lea Michele was dating Monteith at the time of his death.
“Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart,” she wrote on Twitter shortly after his passing.
Monteith had checked into rehab months before his death.
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FILE – In this Sept. 18, 2011 file photo, Cory Monteith arrives at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards, in Los Angeles. Glee launched its new season Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013, with the first episode of a two-part Beatles tribute. Lea Micheles character, Rachel, looks at a cell phone photo that includes a group shot with Monteiths character, Finn, in it. She sings the Beatles Yesterday in the scene. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File) ![]()
An image of the late Cory Monteith is pictured on screen at the Teen Choice Awards as a tribute at the Gibson Amphitheater on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP) ![]()
PASADENA, CA – JANUARY 08: Cory Monteith attends the Fox All-Star Party at Castle Green on January 8, 2012 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP Images) ![]()
FILE – This Aug. 19, 2012 file photo shows Cory Monteith, left, and Lea Michele at the 2012 Do Something awards in Santa Monica, Calif. Monteith, who shot to fame in the hit TV series “Glee” but was beset by addiction struggles so fierce that he once said he was lucky to be alive, was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room, police said. He was 31. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) ![]()
FILE – In this May 7, 2012 file photo, Cory Monteith arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada in New York. A coroner’s final report on Monteith issued Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013, confirmed initial findings that the 31-year-old Canadian-born actor died from using intravenous heroin combined with alcohol. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File) ![]()
FILE – In this Monday April 12, 2010 file photo, Cory Monteith, a cast member in the television series “Glee,” arrives at the “Glee” Spring Premiere Soiree in Los Angeles, Glee” executive producer Ryan Murphy says he is planning a tribute episode for the series deceased star, Cory Monteith, Saturday, July 20, 2013 (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) ![]()
FILE – This Aug. 19, 2012 file photo shows actor Cory Monteith at the 2012 Do Something awards in Santa Monica, Calif. Monteith, who shot to fame in the hit TV series “Glee” but was beset by addiction struggles so fierce that he once said he was lucky to be alive, died July 13, 2013 after an overdose of heroin and alcohol. He was 31. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday called on first responders to use an overdose-reversal drug to help save lives amid a nationwide resurgence in heroin abuse, a public health scourge claiming the lives of celebrities and young people alike. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) ![]()
SANTA MONICA, CA – MAY 11: Cory Monteith at the Los angeles premiere of Glee” at Santa Monica High School on May 11, 2009 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/APImages) ![]()
SANTA MONICA, CA – MAY 11: Lea Michele and Cory Monteith at the Los angeles premiere of Glee” at Santa Monica High School on May 11, 2009 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/APImages) ![]()
FILE – In this Jan. 27, 2013, file photo, Cory Monteith, left, and Lea Michele arrive at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Michele and former “Glee” co-star Dianna Agron paid tribute to Monteith on Instagram July 13, 2017, the fourth anniversary of Monteith’s death. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)
Mark Salling
More than a month before he was scheduled to be sentenced in 2018 for possessing child pornography, “Glee” star Mark Salling was found dead in an apparent suicide. He was 35.
“Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment,” read a statement from his lawyer.
Salling had pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor as part of a plea agreement. As part of that deal, he admitted to downloading 25,000 images of children engaging in sexual acts.
Salling was to be sentenced to between four to seven years in federal prison, and 20 years of supervised release as part of the plea agreement.
Salling played the role as Noah “Puck” Puckerman.
The Associated Press contributed to this report