Naya Rivera: Ryan Murphy and Glee co-creators announce college fund for actor’s son
‘She was warm and caring and fiercely protective of the rest of the cast. She was tough and demanding. She was fun. She was kind’
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Glee‘s co-creators have paid a moving tribute to Naya Rivera, pledging to create a college fund for her son.
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan shared a joint statement honouring Rivera’s memory with The Hollywood Reporter.
“Naya could act, she could dance, and she could sing (could she ever sing!) She could nail a joke as well as she could crush you with an emotional scene,” they wrote.
“She could move between being scary tough and deeply vulnerable with ease. She was a joy to write for, a joy to direct and a joy to be around.”
Authorities announced on Monday that the body of Rivera, 33, had been found at Lake Piru, California, where she had gone missing several days prior.
Rivera played cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee, which ran from 2009 to 2015 on Fox.
Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennan remembered Rivera’s “numerous iconic” performances on the show, including renditions of “Valerie” and “Songbird” and her participation in an Adele mash-up.
“Her greatest Glee legacy is probably the humour and humanity that she brought to Santana’s relationship with her best friend and eventual girlfriend/wife Brittany (played by Heather Morris),” the co-creators added.
“It was one of the first times an openly lesbian, high school relationship was seen on network television and Naya understood what ‘Brittana’ meant to the many young women who were seeing themselves represented on television for the first time.
“Naya always made sure that Santana’s love for Brittany was expressed with dignity, strength and with pure intentions.”
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They described the actor as a “real pro” who was “always on time” and “always knew her lines”, even when faced with “giant mouthfuls of dialogue”.
“She was warm and caring and fiercely protective of the rest of the cast,” they added.
“She was tough and demanding. She was fun. She was kind. She was generous.”
Murphy, Falchuk, and Brennan extended their support to Rivera’s family and said they were in the process of creating a college fund for her four-year-old son, whom Rivera “loved most of all”.
Rivera went missing on 8 July after renting a pontoon boat with her son. He was later found on the vessel, alive and wearing a life jacket.
Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a news conference on Monday that Rivera ”must have mustered enough energy to get her son back on the boat, but not enough to save herself”.