Lea Michele and Glee stars pay tribute to Cory Monteith nine years after his death

Actor died in 2013 from a drug overdose. He was 31

Lea Michele has honoured late actor and boyfriend Cory Monteith on the ninth anniversary of his death.

The Canadian actor died on 13 July 2013 from an alcohol and heroin overdose at the age of 31.

Monteith and Michele starred together as on-again-off-again lovers Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson on the hit musical series Glee. The two also began dating off-screen in 2012, up until his death.

On Instagram today (13 July), Michele posted a behind-the-scenes photo of the pair from an episode of the Fox show. Underneath, she included a red heart emoji.

The 35-year-old actor married Zandy Reich in 2019, and they welcomed their son, Ever Leo, in 2020.

Iqbal Theba, who played Principal Figgins on the show, also remembered Monteith in a tweet that read: “It's been nine years since that heartbreaking phone call from my publicist. He would've been 39 this year #CoryMonteith.”

A few days ago, other cast members paid tribute to Naya Rivera – who played Santana Lopez on Glee – two years after she drowned on 8 July 2020 at the age of 33.

Tributes to Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera (Twitter/Instagram screenshots)

“Everyday my angel. I miss you every damn day,” Heather Morris wrote in an Instagram post, alongside a photo of the two.

Kevin McHale posted a photo of Rivera on Instagram with the caption: “The best there ever was forever & ever.”

Jenna Ushkowitz also shared a picture of Rivera, including a single red heart emoji.

Meanwhile, Michele was recently confirmed to replace Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.